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A  Key  to  the  Orient 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 


By 

Mrs.  Clapham   Pennington 


Philadelphia : 
JOHN   J.   McVEY. 


COPYRIGHT,  MDCCCXCVII, 
By  MRS.  CLAPHAM  PKNNINGTON. 


AUTHOR'S    PREFACE 

THE  Orient  to  most  people  of  the 
Occident  is  a  sealed  book. 

Works  there  are  indeed,  and  by  the 
greatest  scholars,  on  the  Oriental  Relig- 
ions ;  and  others,  though  very  few,  of 
the  history  of  oriental  lands ;  and  books  of 
oriental  travels  describing  the  general 
aspect  of  the  countries,  the  outside  of  the 
houses,  the  scenes  in  the  streets,  but  leav- 
ing the  inside  life,  the  real  thought  and 
feeling  of  the  people,  dark. 

But  our  people  are  not  interested.  The 
resignation  and  charmed  calm  of  the 
Orient  are  too  unlike  the  restless  dis- 
content and  perpetual  motion  of  the 
Occident. 

The  West  does  not  understand  the  East, 
and  does  not  wish  or  try  to  understand, 
v 


2226985 


Author's  Preface 

But  at  the  same  time,  she  criticises  her, 
and  severely,  judging  everything  by  her 
own  standards,  making  no  allowance  for 
difference  of  nature,  custom,  tradition, 
thought,  and  feeling,  but  saying  it  is  so 
here,  and  it  must  be  so  there. 

The  English  drink  pale  ale  in  India,  say- 
ing it  suits  in  England,  therefore  it  must 
suit  here.  Carlsbad  and  Vichy  tell  the 
end  of  the  tale,  and  many  an  Indian  ceme- 
tery besides ;  and  as  long  as  the  West 
judges  the  East  by  herself,  she  will  be 
always  in  the  wrong. 

It  is  my  hope  in  this  little  book  to  try 
and  make  people  take  interest  in  the  East, 
and  think  of  it  as  it  really  is.  This  is  an 
humble  effort,  but  perhaps  it  will  lead 
others  to  study  for  themselves. 

And  one  thing  I  can  claim.  I  know 
the  real  life  of  the  East,  not  as  one  knows 
it  who  walks  in  the  streets,  but  as  one  who 
has  been  behind  the  lattices. 

Most  oriental  travellers   are    men,   and 


Author's  Preface 

therefore  the  inside  life  is  absolutely  closed 
to  them ;  and  they  would  do  better  to  pass  it 
over  in  silence,  for  in  relating  from  hear- 
say they  make  many  mistakes. 

And  of  the  women  who  at  present  give 
us  accounts  of  the  East,  the  majority  are 
missionaries,  and  with  all  due  respect,  their 
view  of  oriental  life  is  not  always  one 
which  other  people  would  take,  and  liable 
to  be,  one  may  say,  made  to  order. 

I  know  the  inside  life  of  the  East,  first, 
from  oriental  literature,  and  then  from  what 
I  have  seen,  for  I  have  been  most  fortu- 
nate in  having  had  access  to  oriental  homes 
from  the  highest  to  the  lowest. 

I  love  to  tell  of  what  I  have  seen,  and  I 
could  tell  much  more ;  but  unless  one 
enters  into  the  thought  and  feeling  of  the 
East  one  hardly  understands,  and  I  do  not 
wish  to  be  misunderstood. 

We  must  learn,  first,  that  things  are  not 
the  same  everywhere.  Musk  in  our  own 
country  is  a  vulgar  and  objectionable  per- 
vii 


Author's  Preface 

fume.  But  under  skies  to  which  ours  are 
pale,  and  amid  colors  beside  which  ours 
are  faded,  with  the  jewels  and  the  tinsel  of 
the  Orient,  musk  is  sweet. 

And  so  with  all  things.  But  I  have 
found  a  pleasure  so  intense  in  my  oriental 
studies  and  my  oriental  experiences  that 
I  want  to  share  it  with  other  people. 
There  are  many  books  far  beyond  mine 
which  they  may  read,  if  they  can  be  per- 
suaded. There  is  much  for  them  to  see 
and  hear,  many  pleasures  and  surprises  in 
store  for  them. 

But  I  will  hope  that  for  some  at  least 
my  little  book  may  be  —  a  key  to  the 
Orient. 

MARGARET  PENNINGTON. 


via 


Contents 

PAGE 

THE  WOMEN  OF  ISLAM  3 

ORIENTAL  SLAVERY  75 
THE  MISSIONARIES  AS  THEY  APPEAR  TO 

THE  HEATHEN  89 
A  BIRD'S  EYE  VIEW  OF  THE  RELIGIONS 

OF  THE  ORIENT  103 

THE  RELIGION  OF  ZARATHUSTRA  SPITAMA  139 


The  Women  of  Islam 


THE   WOMEN   OF   ISLAM 

PART  I 

THE  sacred  fires  on  the  altars  of  Iran 
went  out  on  the  night  when  Mo- 
hammed was  born  ;  and  the  painted  Saints 
of  the  Eastern  Empire  may  well  have 
turned  pale  in  their  gilded  shrines,  for  that 
hour  was  the  beginning  of  their  fall  and  of 
a  series  of  events  the  most  remarkable  that 
the  world  has  ever  seen. 

How  little  we,  so-called  Christians, — 
for  God  alone  knows  how  many  of  us 
are  unworthy  of  the  name,  —  know  of 
Mohammed  and  his  wonderful  life  and 
work. 

Mohammed,  to  whom  we  deny  inspira- 
tion, and  yet  to  whom  amidst  rank  idolatry 
3 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

the  knowledge  of  one  God  and  truth  and 
justice  came.  Mohammed,  who  was  not 
afraid  to  speak,  and  whose  first  words 
aroused  such  a  storm  of  indignation  among 
his  townsmen  as  had  nearly  cost  him  his 
life. 

Driven  from  Mecca  like  a  wild  beast, 
we  find  him  again  in  the  desert,  outlawed 
and  abandoned  by  his  kind,  but  not  alone, 
the  hosts  of  the  Jinn  (spirits  of  the  air) 
crowding  round  him  to  listen  to  the  word 
of  God,  which  man  had  refused  to  hear. 

Mohammed  !  who  a  few  years  later  saw 
Arabia  kneel  and  hail  him  the  Prophet  of 
God,  and  v/hose  followers  to-day  'number 
two  hundred  millions. 

And  who  of  all  these  millions  was  the 
first  to  believe  ?  Woman,  "  last  at  the 
cross  and  first  at  the  sepulchre,"  was  also 
the  first  in  Islam.  Kadijah,  Mohammed's 
faithful  wife,  when  all  men  turned  away 
from  him,  stood  by  his  side  and  accepted 
from  his  lips  the  words  of  God.  The  first 
4 


The  Women  of  Islam 

in  Islam !  and  hers  the  proud  title  for  all 
the  ages,  Mother  of  the  Believers  ! 

Mohammed,  though  often  spoken  of  as  a 
camel-driver,  belonged  to  the  first  family  in 
Mecca,  that  of  El  Hashim,  and  his  uncle 
Abu  Talib  was  the  hereditary  Prince  of 
Mecca  and  guardian  of  the  Kaba.  Being, 
however,  poor  in  worldly  goods,  like  many 
another  scion  of  a  noble  house,  he  accepted 
as  a  very  young  man,  from  the  wealthy 
widow  Kadijah,  the  position  of  the  leader 
of  her  caravan. 

Just  how  long  this  lasted,  we  do  not 
know,  but  sooner  or  later  the  friends  of 
Kadijah  persuaded  her  that  she  should  not 
remain  a  widow,  and  she  gave  her  hand  to 
the  young  Mohammed,  who  at  the  time 
was  twenty-six,  she  herself  being  forty 
years  old. 

A  marriage  de  convenance  in  the  begin- 
ning, but  a  real  union  of  hearts  as  it  proved. 
Six  children  were  born  to  them,  four 
daughters  and  two  sons,  the  latter  of  whom 
5 


A  Key  to  the   Orient 

died,  to  the  Prophet's  deep  regret ;  but  the 
daughters  were  cherished  and  prized,  and 
Mohammed  taught  his  countrymen  to 
value  their  girls  as  they  had  never  done 
before,  for,  as  he  said,  "  If  you  have  sons, 
it  is  well ;  but  if  you  have  daughters  only,  it 
is  well  also."  Through  all  the  storms  of 
his  eventful  life,  Kadijah  stood  firm  and 
true  by  the  side  of  Mohammed  ;  and  in  turn, 
though  he  might  have  had  as  many  wives 
as  he  pleased,  his  heart  never  swerved  from 
her,  and  he  never  in  her  life-time  took 
another. 

In  later  years,  indeed,  he  took  to  himself 
seven  wives;  but  even  then  the  Mother 
of  Believers  was  not  forgotten,  and  Ayesha, 
his  favorite  of  them  all,  averred  that 
she  was  never  jealous  of  any  of  his  liv- 
ing wives,  but  only  of  the  memory  of 
Kadijah. 

Of  these  seven  wives,  though  all  their 
names  are  known,  but  two  have  left  foot- 
prints in  history, —  Ayesha  and  Mary. 
6 


The  Women  of  Islam 

Some  of  them  were  presents  which  the 
Prophet  was  more  or  less  obliged  to  ac- 
cept ;  and  it  is  probable  that  the  desire  for  a 
son,  more  than  the  fancy  for  a  large  harem, 
actuated  the  Prophet  in  taking  to  himself 
so  many. 

His  desire,  however,  was  not  destined  to 
be  fulfilled.  The  only  child  ever  born  to 
Mohammed,  except  by  Kadijah,  was  Ibra- 
him, the  son  of  Mary.  Great  was  the 
Prophet's  joy,  and  that  of  his  followers,  at 
his  birth,  but  a  joy  soon  to  be  turned  into 
sorrow,  for  after  six  months  little  Ibrahim 
died. 

His  death  was  accompanied  by  an  eclipse 
of  the  sun,  which  the  Arabs  pronounced 
the  result  of  the  sad  event.  But  Mo- 
hammed, who  had  never  claimed  to  be 
more  than  a  man,  reproved  them  for  their 
superstition,  and  nobly  said  that  human 
events  had  no  power  over  sun,  moon,  or 
stars,  the  lamps  of  God. 

When  Mohammed  had  established  his 
7 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

religion  in  Arabia,  he  sent  messengers  to 
the  rulers  of  all  the  surrounding  countries 
to  summon  them  to  embrace  Islam,  and 
accept  him  as  the  Prophet  of  God.  His 
messengers  were  received  with  laughter, 
but  laughter  that  was  soon  to  be  turned 
into  tears,  when  the  summons  was  re- 
peated by  armies  before  their  gates,  and 
when  their  painted  Saints  could  not  save 
them  from  the  sword  of  Islam. 

The  only  one  who  returned  a  polite 
answer  was  the  Governor  of  Egypt,  and 
with  it  he  sent,  as  a  present  to  Mohammed, 
two  beautiful  young  girls,  the  most  beauti- 
ful of  whom  was  Mary. 

Mohammed  took  her  to  wife,  and  is  said 
to  have  loved  her,  and  had  Ibrahim  lived 
she  might  have  become  a  power  in  Islam, 
but  after  his  death  her  star  seems  to  have 
set,  and  she  fades  out  of  history. 

Ayesha  was  the  daughter  of  Abu  Bekr,  a 
prominent  citizen  of  Mecca,  and  one  of  the 
first  and  most  ardent  of  the  followers  of 
8 


The  Women  of  Islam 

Mohammed.  He  it  was  who  accompanied 
the  Prophet  in  his  second  flight  from 
Mecca,  and  was  with  him  in  the  celebrated 
scene  in  the  cave,  where  they  were  hiding 
from  their  persecutors  who  swarmed  on 
the  mountains.  Overcome  by  the  danger, 
Abu  Bekr  gave  himself  up  for  lost,  saying, 
"  We  are  but  two  against  them  all." 

"  Nay,"    said    Mohammed,    "  we    are 
three,  for  God  is  with  us." 

This  adventure  gained  for  Abu  Bekr  the 
name  of  the  other  one  of  the  two,  and  it 
was  in  consequence  of  this,  that  being  con- 
sidered the  nearest  to  the  Prophet,  he  was 
chosen  as  his  successor,  and  became  the 
first  of  the  Kalifs.  Mohammed,  after  he 
became  Lord  of  Arabia,  married  Ayesha, 
then  only  twelve  years  old,  out  of  compli- 
ment to  her  father.  She  was  a  clever  as 
well  as  a  beautiful  woman,  and  soon  became 
his  favorite,  and  exercised  a  great  influence 
in  Islam,  both  during  his  life-time  and  under 
the  reign  of  her  father. 
9 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

Ali,  the  husband  of  Mohammed's  favor- 
ite daughter  Fatima,  and  afterwards  fourth 
Kalif,  was  always  hostile  to  Ayesha,  and 
constant  trouble  existed  between  them. 
He  even  accused  her  of  being  unfaithful 
to  the  Prophet,  and  appearances  seemed 
to  justify  the  accusation,  but  Mohammed 
would  not  doubt  her;  she  remained  with 
him  always  first,  and  he  finally  expired  in 
her  arms. 

Of  the  daughters  of  Mohammed,  Fatima 
is  by  far  the  most  prominent.  The  wife 
of  Ali  and  the  mother  of  Hassan  and 
Hosein,  it  is  from  her  that  all  the  de- 
scendants of  the  Prophet  still  flourishing 
in  these  days,  claim  their  descent. 

Another  daughter,  Rikayia,  was  so 
beautiful  that  Othman,  himself  the  flower 
of  the  Arab  youth,  embraced  Islam  for 
her  sake,  and  afterwards  became  the  third 
Kalif;  but  the  other  two  daughters  have 
left  no  trace  in  history. 

And  now  to  the  religious  and  social 
10 


The  Women  of  Islam 

position  accorded  by  the  Arabian  Prophet 
to  women.  The  general  impression  on 
this  subject  amongst  us  is  very  false,  and 
no  man  has  ever  been  so  maligned  and 
misrepresented  as  Mohammed. 

The  reason  for  this  is  not  far  to  seek. 
Until  the  present  century  our  information, 
if  such  it  can  be  called,  about  Mohammed 
and  his  teachings  was  derived  chiefly  from 
the  Greek  priests,  —  the  Greek  priests, 
who  were  not  only  his  enemies,  but,  as 
Lady  Mary  Montagu  very  justly  re- 
marks, "  Undoubtably  the  greatest  set  of 
liars  and  scoundrels  that  the  world  has 
ever  seen." 

Mohammed  was  the  champion  of 
women,  seeking  in  their  case,  as  in  all 
others,  to  do  justice  and  right  wrong. 

To  understand  this  we  must  look  at 
the  position  of  women  in  Arabia  before 
his  time.  To  begin  with,  it  was  quite  a 
common  custom  among  the  Arabs  to 
destroy  their  female  infants,  as  the  Chinese 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

do  to-day  (they  would  not  kill  them, 
indeed,  but  they  buried  them  alive). 

Mohammed  abolished  this  custom  en- 
tirely, and  taught  that  daughters  were  only 
second  in  value  to  sons. 

Women  had  no  rights  of  property,  any- 
thing they  had  inherited  became  their  hus- 
band's, and  remained  his  should  he  divorce 
them,  they  being  left  penniless.  The 
number  of  wives  one  might  have  was 
unlimited,  and  a  man  had  the  right  to 
punish  an  unfaithful  wife  with  death. 

Mohammed  changed  all  this,  giving 
rights  of  property  to  women  the  same  as 
to  men,  and  obliging  a  man  who  divorced 
his  wife  to  restore  her  dowry.  The 
number  of  wives  he  limited  to  four,  and 
took  away  from  the  husband  the  power  of 
life  and  death. 

He  allowed  men  their  female  slaves,  as 
had  always  been  the  custom,  and  as  we 
see  it  in  the  Bible  itself;  but  he  made  it 
a  law  that  if  there  were  children,  they 

12 


The  Women  of  Islam 

should  rank  equally  with  the  children  of 
the  wife  or  wives. 

One  of  the  commonest  errors  in  regard 
to  the  teachings  of  Mohammed  is  that  he 
denied  immortality  to  women,  and  declared 
they  had  no  souls.  This  is  entirely  false. 
Mohammed  promised  paradise  to  women 
on  one  condition,  that  of  bearing  children. 

His  own  words  in  the  Koran  are  as 
follows,  "  Women  not  being  fitted  by 
nature  to  direct  in  council  nor  to  sup- 
port the  fatigues  of  war,  God  has  not 
ordained  that  they  shall  govern  or  reform 
the  world,  but  He  has  intrusted  them 
with  an  office  which  is  not  less  honorable, 
even  that  of  multiplying  the  human  race." 

11  And  such  as  out  of  malice  or  laziness 
refuse  to  bear  children  fulfil  not  the  duty 
of  their  vocation  and  rebel  against  the 
commands  of  God." 

It  is  said  that  an  old  woman  once  asked 
Mohammed  if  there  would  be  any  old 
women  in  heaven.  "  No,"  replied  the 
13 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

Prophet,  "  before  entering  heaven  they 
will  all  be  made  young." 

Surely  no  promise  can  be  better  than 
this,  and  no  woman  can  ask  more  than 
eternal  youth  in  paradise. 

The  life  of  women  in  the  East  has 
always  been  one  of  seclusion,  and  this  does 
not  belong  to  any  religion  more  than  the 
others,  but  it  is  for  many  reasons  a 
necessity. 

Mohammed,  indeed,  ordained  that  the 
women  should  wear  veils  in  public,  but 
that  had  already  been  the  custom  in  many 
parts  of  the  East,  though  not  among  the 
Arabs,  and  is  as  strictly  observed  by  the 
Asiatic  Christians  as  by  the  women  of 
Islam,  to-day. 

We  are  prone  to  imagine  and  believe 
that  we  owe  our  liberty  to  the  Christian 
religion,  but  this  is  an  entire  mistake. 

The  teachings  of  Christ  hardly  touch 
on  social  institutions,  and  where  the 
Apostles  have  laid  down  any  rules,  they 


The  Women  of  Islam 

have  been  in  accordance  with  the  old 
regime,  such  as,  that  women  should  ap- 
pear in  the  assemblies  with  their  heads 
covered,  and  if  they  had  anything  to  ask, 
should  not  speak  in  public,  but  ask  their 
husbands  at  home. 

The  truth  is  that  the  Apostles  were 
orientals,  and  that  it  never  occurred  to 
them  to  change  any  of  their  social  regula- 
tions, change  being  entirely  foreign  to  the 
oriental  nature. 

Had  Christianity  become  the  religion  of 
Asia,  instead  of  that  of  Europe,  our  present 
position  would  never  have  been  attained, 
and  the  life  of  Christian  women  would 
have  been  just  what  the  life  of  the 
oriental  Christian  women  is  to-day,  prac- 
tically the  same  as  that  of  their  Moslem 
neighbors. 

But  this   was   not  to  be :    Christianity 

was  destined  to  be  the  religion  of  progress, 

and,  turning    its    back   on    Asia  where  it 

was  not  welcome,  it  spread  its  wings  for 

'5 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

Europe,  where  the  old  beliefs  were  dead 
and  dying,  and  the  time  for  a  new  faith 
had  come. 

The  Roman  Empire  embraced  Chris- 
tianity, and  Christianity  adopted  the  social 
customs  of  the  Roman  Empire. 

It  is  from  the  Romans  that  we  get 
monogamy,  which  had  always  been  their 
custom.  As  the  Roman  dominion  had 
been  some  time  established  in  Judea  be- 
fore the  coming  of  Christ,  it  is  most 
likely  that  this  was  practised  by  the  Chris- 
tians from  the  first,  but  a  Jewish  custom 
it  certainly  was  not,  till  they  too  took  it 
from  the  Romans. 

And  from  the  Romans  comes  our 
right  to  social  intercourse  with  men, 
which  had  even  been  denied  to  respectable 
women  by  the  Greeks,  and  all  our  mar- 
riage rites,  our  bridal  veils,  our  brides- 
maids, and  our  wedding  rings,  —  the 
whole  foundation  of  the  position  which  we 
enjoy  to-day. 

16 


The  Women  of  Islam 

Let  no  one  suppose  that  I  undervalue 
what  woman  gained  through  Christianity. 
I  am  speaking  not  of  her  spiritual  eleva- 
tion, but  of  her  social  position. 

The  worship  of  the  Mother  of  Christ 
placed  woman  on  a  pedestal,  and  lit  a 
halo  round  her  head. 

But  among  the  Gothic  and  their  kin- 
dred nations,  the  seclusion  of  the  early 
Christian  woman  was  that  of  a  saint  in 
its  shrine,  and  it  was  not  until  the  end  of 
the  dark  ages,  that  with  the  return  of 
Roman  influences  she  resumed  the  posi- 
tion which  she  had  held  in  the  Roman 
Empire. 

But  to  return  to  the  women  of  the 
Orient,  their  life  is  one  of  seclusion 
and  has  been  such  throughout  all  Asia 
since  the  dawn  of  time. 

Centuries  have  passed  and  made  no 
difference.  The  pictures  of  oriental  life 
and  social  customs  which  we  find  in  the 
Arabian  Nights  of  the  time  of  Haroun-al- 

2  17 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

Raschid,  the  contemporary  of  Charle- 
magne, are  just  as  true  to-day.  And  still 
the  same,  are  the  glittering  scenes  of  the 
Shah  Namah,  the  great  Persian  epic 
poem,  and  still  the  history  of  Zal  and 
Rudabe,  the  most  famous  of  its  legends, 
ranks  first  of  oriental  love-stories,  though 
three  thousand  years  old. 

Woman  in  the  Orient  has  always  been 
a  thing  of  beauty  rather  than  of  use,  the 
partner  of  man's  pleasures,  not  his  toils. 

Never  has  she  been  considered  his  equal, 
but  she  has  been  guarded  as  a  treasure, 
never  permitted  to  do  anything  for  her 
own  support,  and  shielded  from  all  conflict 
with  the  outside  world. 

Much  has  been  said  and  written  about 
the  degradation  of  this  mode  of  life,  prin- 
cipally by  people  quite  ignorant  of  what 
they  were  talking  about ;  but  there  are  two 
sides  to  everything. 

Undoubtably  there  have  been  in  all 
ages  domestic  tragedies  and  scandals 
18 


The  Women  of  Islam 

occurring  in  harems,  but  have  there 
been  none  in  Christian  countries,  and  are 
there  none  in  our  highly  civilized  and 
model  homes  to-day  ?  and  as  our  lights 
are  greater  than  the  Moslems,  are  we  not 
more  to  blame  ? 

In  reality  the  lives  of  most  oriental 
women  are,  if  monotonous  and  dull  accor- 
ding to  our  ideas,  peaceful  and  happy 
according  to  their  own,  and  absolutely 
devoid  of  most  of  the  little  worries  and 
struggles  which  bring  us  wrinkles  and  gray 
hairs  before  our  time. 

To  begin  with,  as  the  salvation  of 
women  depends  on  their  being  mothers, 
or  at  least  endeavoring  to  fulfil  their 
destiny,  all  girls  are  given  in  marriage  as 
soon  as  they  have  reached  the  marriage- 
able age,  which  varies  with  them  accord- 
ing to  latitude,  from  eleven  or  twelve  to 
seventeen  or  eighteen.  These  marriages, 
which  we  regard  as  deplorable  because  the 
bride  and  bridegroom  cannot  know  each 
19 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

other  beforehand,  and  meet  for  the  first 
time  on  their  wedding  night,  are  in  reality 
quite  as  happy  and  as  successful  as  our 
own. 

In  the  first  place,  they  are  arranged  by 
their  respective  mothers,  who  should  know 
their  children  best,  with  regard  to  suita- 
bility of  age,  disposition,  and  social  rank. 

The  bridegroom's  mother  also  seeks 
beauty  in  her  son's  bride,  and  he,  with 
that  filial  piety  which  is  one  of  the  strong- 
est sentiments  in  the  East,  sees  through 
her  eyes  and  makes  her  taste  his  own. 

But  here  the  young  girl  has  the  advan- 
tage of  sight  over  faith,  for  she  may  see 
the  young  man  through  her  window  lat- 
tices or  on  the  street,  he  being  always 
shown  to  her  in  this  way,  and  if  he  does 
not  please  her  fancy,  it  is  rare  that  her 
inclination  is  forced. 

They  meet  then  on  the  wedding  night, 
and  both  being  very  young,  and  having 
known  no  other  youths  or  maidens,  and 
20 


The  Women  of  Islam 

being  therefore  without  rivals  in  each 
other's  minds,  it  is  natural  that  they 
should  love  each  other. 

Young  people  in  the  East  rarely  set  up 
establishments  of  their  own,  but  live  either 
with  the  parents  of  the  bridegroom  or  the 
bride. 

The  young  wife  then  has  no  household 
cares,  which  are  indeed  considered  unsuit- 
able for  young  women.  The  harem  is 
governed  by  her  mother  or  mother-in-law, 
as  it  may  be,  and  the  whole  duty  of  the 
bride  consists  in  cultivating  her  beauty 
and  trying  to  please  her  husband. 

When  she  becomes  a  mother,  she  has 
fulfilled  her  destiny,  her  life  is  full,  and  her 
hopes  of  paradise  secure. 

Her  days  run  calmly  on,  only  broken  by 
the  rejoicings  over  successive  babes,  and  by 
the  excitement  of  other  weddings  in  her 
family,  and  at  last  she  is  called  to  take 
the  place  of  honor  vacated  by  her  mother 
or  mother-in-law,  and  to  rule  the  harem. 

21 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

The  most  beautiful  thing  in  the  oriental 
life  is  that  the  oriental  husband  looks  for 
and  finds  his  pleasures  at  home.  There 
are  no  clubs  in  the  Orient,  no  bar-rooms 
or  saloons,  and  men  cannot  flirt  with  other 
men's  wives,  to  the  neglect  of  their  own. 
There  are  not  even  operas  or  theatres. 
The  outside  world  is  the  place  for  busi- 
ness, for  education,  diplomacy,  law,  and 
war;  but  the  pleasures  of  life  are  all  at 
home. 

An  oriental  friend  of  mine  once  said 
to  me,  "  With  us  a  man  must  marry ;  how 
else  can  he  spend  his  evenings  if  he  has  no 
home." 

And  he  expressed  the  situation  per- 
fectly. The  Oriental,  be  he  of  high  or 
low  degree,  returns  to  his  house  in  the 
afternoon,  retires  to  his  harem,  and  there 
spends  the  remainder  of  the  day  with  his 
wife  and  the  other  women  of  his  family, 
playing  with  his  children  and  enjoying  his 
home.  If  he  be  a  rich  man  and  the  pos- 
22 


The  Women  of  Islam 

sessor  of  female  slaves,  they  sing  and 
dance  before  him  and  the  ladies  of  the 
family,  and  add  to  the  general  amusement, 
according  to  their  accomplishments. 

As  to  the  question  of  polygamy,  which 
would  certainly  destroy  domestic  happiness 
(according  to  our  ideas),  I  cannot  believe 
that  it  has  ever  been  a  general  custom. 

My  own  experience  of  oriental  life  has 
been  entirely  in  Egypt  and  Turkey.  I 
have  seen  the  inside  of  many  homes  in 
these  two  countries,  from  the  palaces  of 
the  Pashas  to  the  mud  huts  of  the  fella- 
heen, but  never  anywhere  have  I  found 
more  than  one  wife. 

Lady  Mary  Montagu,  who  saw  Turkey 
in  its  glory,  makes  the  same  assertion  that 
"though  the  men  are  allowed  four  wives 
by  their  religion,  it  is  a  luxury  in  which 
they  do  not  indulge  themselves,"  and  in 
all  her  visits  in  the  harems,  though  she 
had  found  troops  of  female  slaves,  there 
was  never  but  one  wife. 
23 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

Still  there  are  instances  of  a  plurality  of 
wives  in  both  these  countries,  and  I  am 
told  that  in  Arabia  and  Persia  it  is  still 
the  general  custom. 

Perhaps  it  is  true,  but  I  can  only  say 
that  being  a  student  of  oriental  literature 
myself,  I  have  very  seldom  found  the 
story,  of  no  matter  what  age  or  country,  in 
which  more  than  one  wife  appears,  and 
the  most  casual  reader  must  have  observed 
the  same  thing  in  the  Arabian  Nights. 

My  Turkish  friends  tell  me  that  nowa- 
days a  man  who  likes  variety  in  his 
marital  relations  takes  his  wives  in  suc- 
cession, instead  of  all  at  once,  divorcing 
one  and  marrying  another,  but  only  having 
one  at  a  time. 

This,  they  say,  is  less  expensive  and 
more  agreeable ;  but  in  the  days  of  their 
grandfathers,  they  add,  the  old  customs 
were  still  adhered  to  and  every  great 
and  rich  man  kept  a  large  harem.  I 
know  indeed  one  noble  Turkish  family 
24 


The  Women  of  Islam 

whose  paternal  grandfather  had  six  wives, 
four  at  a  time,  and  whose  maternal  grand- 
father had  a  hundred  and  fifty  women  in 
his  harem. 

But  the  answer  to  the  question  is  here  : 
both  these  grandfathers  were  governors  of. 
provinces  and  Pashas  of  the  first  degree, 
and  their  revenues  enabled  them  to  keep 
up  establishments  which  the  general 
decrease  in  the  wealth  of  the  Turkish 
Empire  will  not  permit  to-day. 

The  Padishah  of  course,  and  the  lesser 
sultans  in  his  train,  the  rulers  of  Arabia 
and  the  Barbary  States,  have,  as  they 
always  have  had,  large  harems,  and  doubt- 
less will  have  for  all  time  to  come. 

But  this  proves  nothing,  for  a  large 
harem  is  something  which  (whether 
kept  within  the  four  walls  of  a  Serail  or 
allowed  to  roam  the  world  at  will)  seems 
to  belong  to  royalty. 

The  liberty  and  amusements  of  Mos- 
lem women  vary  in  different  countries. 
25 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

In  Egypt  their  diversions  are  fewer  and 
their  liberty  less  than  in  Turkey,  and  in 
Persia  and  Arabia  they  are  kept  much 
more  strictly  still.  In  all  oriental  coun- 
tries the  great  excitement  and  dissipation 
th>f  the  ladies  are  weddings,  and  these  are 
'  indeed  the  only  entertainments  which  they 
attend.  Visiting  and  shopping  in  the  ba- 
zaars are  also  among  their  diversions,  but 
where  the  old  regime  prevails  these  are 
pleasures  which  are  very  much  restricted. 
In  Cairo  one  meets  women  of  the 
lower  classes  in  the  bazaars  and  walking 
on  the  streets,  but  very  rarely  ladies,  either 
walking  or  driving,  and  then  always  ac- 
companied by  eunuchs ;  and  the  inference 
is,  that,  except  for  visits  to  their  relatives, 
weddings,  or  very  occasional  shopping 
tours,  they  stay  at  home. 

The    Turkish    ladies,  on  the  contrary, 
lead    a    very    gay    life,    and    seem    to    be 
always  on   the   go,  walking,  driving,  vis- 
iting, or  boating  in  caiques. 
26 


The  Women  of  Islam 

When  one  goes  to  visit  an  Egyptian 
harem,  it  is  almost  as  unnecessary  to  ask 
if  the  ladies  are  at  home  as  when  visiting 
a  convent,  but  in  Constantinople  it  is 
better  to  send  word  of  one's  coming  before- 
hand, if  one  does  •  not  go  by  special 
invitation. 

Eunuchs  are  rare  at  present  in  Con- 
stantinople, or  at  least  they  are  not  much 
seen  on  the  streets ;  and  though  no  Turkish 
lady  ever  goes  out  alone,  one  sees  them 
both  walking  and  driving  two  or  three 
together,  or  attended  only  by  their  female 
slaves. 

The  Egyptian  and  Persian  veils  are  so 
thick  and  black  that  it  is  impossible  to 
see  anything  but  a  woman's  eyes,  or  to 
tell  whether  she  is  old  or  young.  But  the 
Turkish  yashmak,  which  is  made  of  a 
fine  white  silk  gauze,  not  only  does  not 
hide,  but  heightens  the  beauty  of  the 
wearer,  like  a  bridal  veil. 

All  things  are  ordered  for  the  besti 
27 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

though  there  are  many  handsome  women 
in  Egypt  among  the  fellaheen  and  Abys- 
sinian slaves,  the  lack  of  beauty  among 
the  ladies  is  very  marked,  and  is  all  the 
more  surprising  as  the  husbands  are,  as  a 
rule,  very  handsome  men.  And  for  this 
reason  they  are  more  interesting  with,  than 
they  would  be  without,  their  thick  black 
veils. 

But  in  Turkey  all  the  women  are  beau- 
tiful, or  at  least  pleasing  to  the  eye,  and 
the  yashmak  is  just  what  is  needed  to  give 
the  last  touch  to  their  charms. 

Of  course  so  much  liberty  and  such 
thin  veils  would  soon  pervert  the  posi- 
tion of  the  Turkish  women,  but  that 
though  they  are  seen  they  are  never 
known.  One  may  feast  his  eyes  on 
beauty,  white  skins,  pink  cheeks,  red  lips, 
and  long  black-velvet  eyes,  but  one  may 
never  know  who  these  sisters  of  the  houris 
are.  No  Turk  ever  recognizes  his  wife, 
pr  any  of  his  female  relatives,  in  the 
28 


The  Women  of  Islam 

street,  and  for  a  man  to  ask  him  any 
question  concerning  them,  or  even  to 
refer  to  the  fact  that  they  exist,  would  be 
the  height  of  bad  breeding  and  discourtesy. 

No  man  is  allowed  to  follow  or  even 
stare  at  a  woman  on  the  street,  and  yet 
human  nature  is  the  same  here  as  else- 
where ;  where  there  is  a  will  there  is  a  way, 
and  a  friend  of  mine,  a  young  Turkish 
Bey,  has  explained  to  me  how  love- 
matches  are  made  even  here. 

The  Turkish  ladies  are  very  fond  of 
making  picnics,  which  they  do  by  going  in 
their  caiques  in  spring  to  "  The  sweet 
waters  of  Europe,"  an  ideally  beautiful 
stream  at  the  head  of  the  Golden  Horn, 
and  in  summer  to  a  smaller  but  equally 
beautiful  and  winding  stream  which  flows 
into  the  Bosphorus,  "  The  sweet  waters 
of  Asia." 

Arrived  at  these  places,  which  are  as- 
suredly two  of  the  most  beautiful  spots  in 
the  world,  the  ladies  sit  together  on  one 
29 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

side  of  the  stream,  and  the  gentlemen  on 
the  other.  They  listen  to  open-air  con- 
certs, and  regale  themselves  on  coffee  and 
sweets,  and  watch  the  gypsies  dance.  All 
very  innocent  apparently,  but  once  in 
their  caiques  again  on  the  serpentine  curves 
of  the  little  river,  the  boats  pass  close  to 
each  other,  and  (the  words  are  the  Bey's 
not  my  own)  "  The  youths  and  maidens 
>who  have  taken  each  other's  fancy  across 
the  stream  make  signs  to  each  other." 
Then  seemingly  without  intention  the 
lover  follows  the  lady's  boat,  trying  to  learn 
from  some  one  to  whom  belong  the  row- 
ers, or  where  she  will  land.  Perhaps  his 
own  oarsmen  may  recognize  their  fellows, 
and  know  in  whose  service  they  are,  or  it 
may  take  many  afternoons  of  such  meet- 
ings to  unravel  the  mystery.  But  once 
known,  unless  indeed  the  lady  be  already 
married,  the  case  becomes  a  simple  one. 
The  young  man  sends  his  mother,  or  some 
other  female  relative,  to  see  the  young 
3° 


The  Women  of  Islam 

lady's  mother,  and  propose  for  her,  and 
then,  if  the  affair  can  be  arranged,  which 
generally  happens,  the  marriage  takes  place, 
and  is  as  much  of  a  love-match  in  its  way 
as  any  of  ours. 

With  regard  to  Moslem  weddings,  I 
would  just  say  here  for  the  benefit  of  ori- 
ental travellers  that  there  are  no  regular 
invitations,  but  all  kdies  who  choose  are 
expected  to  attend,  just  as  the  friends  of 
the  family  are  expected  at  funerals  with  us. 

On  bright  spring  afternoons  in  Con- 
stantinople and  Cairo,  one  often  sees  a 
stream  of  carriages  full  of  ladies,  of  whose 
jewels  and  bright  brocades  and  tinsel 
one  catches  glimpses,  all  hurrying  in  one 
direction.  It  is  a  wedding,  and  one  has 
only  to  make  one's  dragoman  find  out 
where  it  is,  provide  one's  self  with  a  bouquet 
or  other  small  present,  and  follow.  Ori- 
ental hospitality  never  fails,  and  a  foreign 
lady  is  always  welcome. 

In  Arabia  and  Persia  and  further  East, 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

the  old  customs  still  exist  in  everything ; 
but  in  Turkey,  and  to  some  extent  in 
Egypt,  people  are  divided  into  two  parties, 
the  advanced  and  the  conservative. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  to  speak  of  the 
men  of  these  countries,  but  only  of  the 
women,  and  I  have  found  that  for  them 
the  difference  in  these  two  parties  con- 
sists chiefly  in  three  things,  —  the  num- 
ber of  men  they  are  allowed  to  see  and 
know,  their  education  and  costume. 

According  to  the  laws  of  the  Prophet,  a 
man  is  only  allowed  to  see  the  following 
number  of  women :  His  grandmother, 
mother,  sister,  foster-sister,  wife,  and 
daughters,  and,  of  course,  female  slaves. 
This  custom  is  still  adhered  to  by  the 
strict  conservatives,  but  even  with  them 
I  believe  it  is  usual  that  a  man  should 
see  his  sisters-in-law  and  daughters-in-law 
when  they  live  in  his  own  house,  and  the 
usage  is  almost  universal  that  a  man  should 
enjoy  the  society  of  his  mother-in-law. 
3* 


The  Women  of  Islam 

The  advanced  school  admits  all  his  "in- 
laws,"  and  in  Turkey  the  aunts,  nieces, 
and  cousins.  It  has  always  been  the  cus- 
tom of  the  great  men  to  assemble  around 
them  their  poor  relations,  and  to  take  them 
to  live  in  their  palaces,  which,  of  course, 
means  the  addition  of  all  the  poor  female 
relatives  to  the  harem. 

This  of  course  adds  to  the  gayety  of  the 
harem,  by  giving  more  companions  to  the 
ladies  of  the  family ;  and  it  can  be,  and 
often  is,  managed  that  all  the  different 
men  visit  their  own  women  without  ever 
seeing  those  who  do  not  belong  to  them. 

But  where  the  new  regime  allows  all 
the  cousins  to  meet  and  know  each  other, 
we  have  quite  a  new  state  of  things.  The 
ideal  of  the  happy  family  is  realized,  and 
each  house  is  a  little  world  in  itself,  quite 
independent  of  the  great  world  outside. 

The  education  of  oriental  women  has 
always  been  very  simple.  They  are  taught 
embroidery  and  music,  and,  if  they  have 
3  33 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

any  voices,  to  sing,  and  sometimes  to  read 
the  Koran. 

Dancing  is  an  art  much  cultivated,  but 
never  taught  to  ladies,  only  to  slaves ;  and 
the  daughter  of  Herodias  is  the  only  ori- 
ental lady  on  record  who  ever  danced. 

The  advanced  party,  on  the  contrary, 
import  French  bonnes  and  governesses  for 
their  daughters,  and  have  them  taught  to 
play  on  the  piano,  instead  of  on  the  old- 
time  lute.  The  young  ladies  seem  to  learn 
French  easily,  and  do  so  gladly  in  order 
to  read  French  novels,  having  few  books 
of  their  own,  and  the  days  of  wandering 
story-tellers,  who  formerly  added  so  much 
to  their  amusement,  being,  in  Turkey  at 
least,  almost  past. 

The  beautiful  Turkish  costume,  so  well 
described  by  Lady  Mary  Montagu  and 
other  writers,  has  now  become  a  thing  of 
the  past;  but,  though  much  less  effective, 
they  still  have  in  Turkey  and  Egypt  a  cos- 
tume of  their  own.  This  consists  in  a 
34 


The  Women  of  Islam 

long  robe  made,  as  we  should  say,  "  prin- 
cess," and  either  fitting  tight  to  the  figure, 
or  drawn  in  at  the  waist  with  a  girdle  of 
silver  or  gold.  Sometimes  this  gown  has 
a  long  train,  which  adds  to  its  grace,  and 
it  is  always  high  neck  and  long  sleeves, 
Mohammedan  women  considering  dtcollett 
dresses  immodest  even  in  the  seclusion  of 
their  homes. 

It  is  also  considered  immodest  to  go 
bare-headed,  and  onry  permitted  in  very 
young  girls,  who  generally  wear  their  hair 
in  two  long  plaits.  The  Egyptian  women 
wear  long  silk  veils,  very  graceful,  and 
much  like  the  Spanish  mantilla;  and  the 
Turkish  women  wear  little  turbans  of 
white  tulle  or  embroidered  silk  gauze,  to 
which  are  added,  on  festive  occasions,  a 
profusion  of  jewels,  and  sometimes  the 
turban  is  dispensed  with  altogether,  and 
the  head  covered  with  jewels  alone. 

There  is  another  costume  which  I  have 
seen  in  Turkey,  but  never  in  Egypt,  con- 
35 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

sisting  of  a  skirt  and  square  sack,  such  as 
were  worn  at  the  time  of  the  marriage  of 
the  Princess  of  Wales.  I  have  only  seen 
it  worn  by  slaves,  and  though  then  made 
of  the  brightest  brocades,  I  found  it  de- 
void of  all  grace. 

The  ladies  of  the  advanced  party  wear 
French  costumes  and  corsets,  retaining 
only  their  turban  and  gold-embroidered 
slippers.  But  on  the  street  the  yashmak 
and  burnous  are  obligatory,  and  the  cos- 
tume of  all  is  the  same. 

I  will  close  this  article  with  a  few  of 
my  own  experiences  in  Egypt  and  Turkey, 
selecting  those  which  will  be  the  most 
interesting  and  the  best  calculated  to  give 
a  true  glimpse  of  harem  life  in  the  East 
of  to-day. 


The  Women  of  Islam 


PART    II 

MY  first  experience  was  humble  but 
none  the  less  interesting.  Our  dragoman 
at  Luxor,  Mahmoud,  a  clever  and  amusing 
Arab,  encouraged  by  my  interest  in  every- 
thing Moslem,  confided  in  me  his  family 
history,  and  the  fact  that  he  was  newly 
married  to  a  beautiful  young  girl  of  thir- 
teen who  belonged  to  the  best  of  Luxor, 
and  was  named  Fatima. 

When  I  expressed  a  wish  to  see  the 
little  bride,  he  was  much  flattered,  and  the 
next  morning  took  me  to  his  house, 
threading  our  way  first  through  the  loaded 
camels  and  donkeys  in  the  square,  for  it 
was  market  day,  and  then  through  a  maze 
of  narrow  crooked  streets. 

The  house  was  two   stories  high,  and 

built  of  mud  bricks  like  most  of  the  houses 

in  Luxor.     And  a  massive  wooden    gate 

admitted  us  into  a  little  courtyard,  which 

37 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

seemed  to  serve  as  a  reception-room  also. 
A  tall  handsome  woman,  wrapped  in  a  red- 
and-green  silk  veil  put  on  like  a  mantilla 
and  falling  to  her  feet,  came  forward  and 
kissed  my  hand. 

This  was  Mahmoud's  brother's  wife. 
She  conducted  me  to  one  corner  of  the 
court,  where  two  green-and-white  straw 
chairs  were  placed  on  a  Turkish  rug,  and  as 
soon  as  I  was  seated  brought  me  some 
coffee  in  a  white-and-gold  cup. 

A  few  moments  later  the  little  bride 
appeared,  and  after  kissing  my  hand  seated 
herself  in  the  other  chair.  Mahmoud  and 
his  sister-in-law  sat  down  on  the  ground, 
and  we  all  began  an  animated  conversa- 
tion in  English  and  Arabic,  Mahmoud 
acting  as  interpreter. 

Fatima  was  as  pretty  a  little  creature  as 
I  have  ever  seen,  and  did  not  look  older 
than  a  girl  of  thirteen  looks  in  America. 

Her  skin  was  like  the  richest  cream,  and 
she  had  the  red  lips,  pink  cheeks,  and  long 
38 


The  Women  of  Islam 

black  eyes  inseparable  from  the  oriental 
ideal  of  beauty. 

She  was  very  bright  and  gay,  constantly 
looked  at  Mahmoud,  and  laughed  and 
seemed  perfectly  happy. 

Her  costume  would  have  been  a  sur- 
prise to  any  one  who  did  not  know  the 
East,  and  who  remembered  that  her  hus- 
band earned  but  six  shillings  a  day.  Her 
dress  was  ruby-red  silk,  and  her  veil  of  red- 
and-green  silk  gauze,  a  massive  gold  neck- 
lace like  a  row  of  medallions  hung  round 
her  neck,  and  four  heavy  gold  earrings 
hung  two  in  each  ear.  Immense  silver 
bracelets  clasped  her  wrists,  and  her  fingers 
were  loaded  with  rings. 

A  woman  of  her  position  in  America 
would  have  been  dressed  in  cotton,  and 
immersed  in  household  work;  but  work 
was  evidently  unknown  to  Fatima. 

I  asked  Mahmoud  how  she  spent  her 
time. 

"  Oh,"  he  said,  "  she  sits  here  and  talks 
39 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

to  my  female  relatives,  and  her  mother 
comes  to  see  her  every  morning  and  every 
evening." 

I  asked  him  if  she  never  went  out. 

"  Oh,  yes,"  he  said,  "  sometimes  at 
night  with  my  mother  or  sister,  but  not  to 
her  father's  house ;  she  will  not  go  there 
till  we  have  been  married  twelve  months. 
She  stays  always  here  because  she  is  so 
young,  and  that  she  may  get  accustomed  to 
my  family,  but  when  twelve  months  are 
out,  she  will  go  home  and  stay  a  few  days 
with  her  father  and  mother.  And  before 
she  goes,  I  must  give  her  a  present  that 
she  go  away  content ;  and  before  she  re- 
turns, they  must  give  her  one  that  she 
come  back  happy." 

We  talked  on  with  a  flowing  inter- 
change of  compliments,  as  always  in  an 
oriental  conversation.  Fatima  begged 
me  to  come  back  and  see  her  again  if  I 
ever  returned  to  Luxor,  and  I  gave  her  a 
pin  in  the  shape  of  a  lantern  as  a  souvenir. 
40 


The  Women  of  Islam 

At  this  she  was  much  delighted,  and 
vowed  that  she  would  never  forget  me,  and 
that  she  would  send  me  a  present  in  return. 

Both  she  and  her  sister-in-law  kissed 
my  hands  many  times  at  parting,  and  the 
same  afternoon  I  received  a  quantity  of 
blue  beads  and  several  small  blue  mummies 
such  as  one  finds  in  the  tombs,  from  my 
little  friend  Fatima. 

To  cross  the  Mediterranean  at  a  bound, 
and  give  a  glimpse  of  modern  Turkey, 
I  will  tell  of  two  visits  in  Constantinople, 
one  in  the  house  of  an  advanced  Pasha, 
and  the  other  in  that  of  a  very  conserva- 
tive Bey,  which  will  show  that  the  con- 
flicting accounts  that  one  hears  on  this 
subject  may  be  equally  true. 

Arrived  in  the  house  of  the  Pasha,  I  was 
met  in  the  Salamlik  (the  men's  part  of 
the  house)  by  the  Pasha's  eldest  son,  who 
conducted  me  down  a  long  passage  into 
the  harem. 

This,  as  in  most  great  establishments, 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

was  in  a  separate  house  with  a  garden  of 
its  own  and  built  on  the  very  edge  of  the 
Bosphorus,  so  that  but  for  the  lattices  one 
might  fish  directly  out  of  the  windows. 

The  lower  floor  of  the  house  was  ar- 
ranged as  most  large  Turkish  houses  are, 
all  the  rooms  opening  from  a  round  cen- 
tral hall  supported  on  pillars,  with  two  fine 
staircases,  one  at  each  side. 

The  oriental  staircase  is  invariable,  and 
differs  from  ours  in  that  it  starts  with  two 
flights  from  the  ground  and  continues  from 
the  landing  in  one.  And  I  have  even 
seen  some  in  the  palaces  which  make  a 
double  turn  in  the  air. 

We  ascended  to  the  second  floor,  which 
was  arranged  in  the  same  way,  and  there 
we  were  met  by  two  ladies,  both  young  and 
beautiful,  to  whom  the  Bey  introduced  me, 
his  wife  and  sister. 

The  ladies  conducted  me  into   a   salon 
which  was  a  great   disappointment  to  me, 
being  entirely  European.     The    furniture 
42 


The  Women  of  Islam 

was  Louis  Fourteenth  (of  which  style  the 
orientals  seem  particularly  fond),  covered 
in  green-and-gold  brocade.  The  walls 
were  green  and  gold,  and,  alas  !  an  Ax- 
minster  carpet  covered  the  floor.  But  for 
the  window  lattices  we  might  have  been 
in  Germany  or  France. 

The  wife  of  the  Bey  was  an  Austrian 
by  birth  whom  he  had  met  and  married  in 
Vienna,  and  who  had  renounced  the  world 
and  adopted  the  Moslem  mode  of  life  for 
his  sake. 

She  was  very  pretty,  and  seemed  per- 
fectly satisfied.  Her  religion  was  the  only 
thing  which  she  had  retained ;  but  her 
two  pretty  little  children,  a  girl  and  a  boy, 
were  being  reared  in  the  faith  of  Islam. 

Both  she  and  her  sister-in-kw  were 
dressed  in  the  Paris  fashions,  another  dis- 
appointment to  me ;  but  the  sister  was  an 
ideal  oriental  beauty  whom  no  chiffons 
could  change  or  spoil,  a  real  princess  of 
the  Arabian  Nights. 

43 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

She  spoke  French  to  me,  and  her  voice 
was  like  music.  Never  have  I  seen  any- 
where a  more  lovely  or  attractive  young 
girl. 

The  Bey  had  left  us,  and  the  ladies  en- 
tertained me  by  showing  me  photograph 
albums,  and  asking  me  about  my  travels 
(which  seemed  to  interest  them  very 
much),  and  also  many  questions  about 
America. 

I  had  been  invited  to  lunch,  and  thought 
of  course  to  remain  with  the  ladies;  but 
no,  the  Bey  reappeared  and,  saying  lunch 
was  served,  took  me  back  to  the  Salamlik, 
where  my  husband  was  waiting  for  me, 
and  we  three  sat  down  to  lunch  in  a  hand- 
some European  dining-room.  The  room 
was  occidental  indeed,  but  the  lunch  was 
entirely  oriental,  —  innumerable  courses, 
and  everything  delicious,  from  the  soup  to 
the  pilaf  and  sweets. 

Oriental  cooking  is  always  good,  but  the 
Turkish  cooking  surpasses  all  others,  and 
44 


The  Women  of  Islam 

distances  the  French.  After  lunch  I  re- 
turned to  the  harem  and  took  my  leave 
of  the  ladies,  and  then  our  host  showed  us 
his  garden,  and  took  us  in  his  caique  to 
that  most  beautiful  spot,  "  The  sweet 
waters  of  Asia." 

Quite  different  was  my  visit  to  the 
house  of  a  Bey  who  is  one  of  the  most 
conservative  men  in  Constantinople,  and 
where  I  had  the  pleasure  of  finding  every- 
thing according  to  the  old  regime. 

To  this  house  I  was  conducted  by  the 
Bey's  nephew,  another  young  Bey  whom 
I  had  known  in  Vienna. 

The  house  was  in  the  middle  of  Stam- 
boul.  Wooden  and  unpretentious  out- 
side, but  the  moment  the  street-door  was 
opened  we  found  ourselves  in  a  marble 
hall,  and  a  number  of  jet-black  eunuchs 
conducted  us  up  a  marble  staircase  to  the 
second  floor,  which  in  this  case  was  the 
harem. 

Here  we  were  ushered  into  a  room 
45 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

where  sat  the  Bey,  a  fine-looking  old  man 
with  a  white  beard  and  bright  black  eyes, 
wearing  a  fez,  of  course,  and  a  long  fur- 
lined  gown. 

He  rose  at  our  entrance,  shook  hands 
with  my  husband  and  bowed  to  me,  bid- 
ding us  welcome  in  Turkish ;  for  he  spoke 
no  other  language,  and  I  noticed  with 
interest  that  he  held  and  fingered  a  rosary 
of  enamel  and  pearls. 

The  room  was  half  Turkish,  half 
European,  and  around  the  walls  were  a 
quantity  of  rare  and  beautiful  clocks  on 
brackets,  of  which,  and  especially  of 
watches,  I  was  told  the  Bey  was  a  great 
collector  and  connoisseur. 

In  a  few  moments  a  eunuch  reap- 
peared to  say  that  the  ladies  were  waiting, 
and,  accompanied  by  the  young  Bey,  I 
walked  down  a  corridor  into  what  was 
evidently  the  reception-room  of  the  harem. 

This  was  a  large  room  frescoed  in 
different  colors.  A  row  of  yellow-satin 
46 


The  Women  of  Islam 

sofas  and  chairs  were  arranged  around  the 
walls,  a  glass  chandelier  full  of  candles  in 
bell-glasses  hung  from  the  middle  of  the 
ceiling,  and  under  it  stood  a  superb  brass 
brazier  on  a  large  brass  tray. 

The  wife  of  the  Bey  advanced  to  meet 
me,  a  handsome  woman  of  middle  age, 
with  splendid  black  eyes.  To  my  delight 
she  wore  a  Turkish  dress  of  yellow  satin, 
with  a  sweeping  train,  and  a  little  turban 
of  embroidered  gauze.  An  Indian  scarf 
hung  over  her  shoulders,  and  her  dia- 
monds, of  immense  size  and  brilliancy, 
fairly  dazzled  the  sight. 

She  greeted  me  with  great  cordiality  in 
Turkish,  and  presented  me  to  two  ladies 
who  had  been  invited  to  meet  me,  one 
a  woman  of  thirty-five  or  so,  in  semi- 
European  dress,  and  the  other  a  girl  of 
fifteen  with  her  hair  in  long  plaits  and 
wearing  a  pelisse  of  crimson  velvet  em- 
broidered in  pearls. 

All  the  ladies  shook  hands  with  me,  and, 
47 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

according  to  the  Turkish  custom,  they 
tried  to  get  their  hands  lower  than  mine, 
to  show  in  what  honor  they  held  me. 
Politeness  forced  me  to  follow  suit,  and 
the  result  was  we  shook  hands  on  the 
floor. 

We  all  sat  down,  and  immediately  four 
slaves  entered  the  room,  bearing  bon-bons 
and  coffee,  all  but  one,  who  wore  the 
Greek  costume  and  seated  herself  on  the 
floor,  while  the  others  remained  standing. 

My  friend,  the  Bey,  explained  to  me 
that  she  had  been  the  wet  nurse  of  the 
eldest  son,  and  in  consequence  ranked 
second  only  to  the  ladies  of  the  family. 

The  bon-bons  were  first  handed  round, 
—  delicious  Turkish  bon-bons  in  dishes  of 
silver  filigree,  —  and  then  the  coffee  in 
cups  of  egg-shell  porcelain  fitting  into  out- 
side cups  of  gold,  the  whole  service  resting 
on  a  round  silver-gilt  tray.  And  last  of 
all  came  pink  sherbet  in  large  glasses,  the 
usual  order  observed  everywhere. 
48 


The  Women  of  Islam 

The  slaves  interested  me  extremely. 
They  were  all  young  women,  one  Circas- 
sian and  two  negresses,  all  dressed  in 
white  tulle  turbans  and  skirts,  and  jackets 
of  brilliant  brocade,  —  one  pink,  one  lilac, 
and  one  olive-green. 

The  ladies  spoke  nothing  but  Turkish, 
but  that  made  no  difference  j  they  talked 
to  me  with  the  greatest  volubility,  and  the 
Bey  acted  as  interpreter. 

Knowing  a  little  Turkish  myself,  I  said 
what  I  could,  and  the  ladies  were  delighted 
with  my  efforts,  and  clapped  their  hands 
and  laughed,  and  begged  me  to  say  some- 
thing more;  until  my  vocabulary  was 
entirely  exhausted. 

A  great  many  compliments  were  ex- 
changed between  us,  and  the  ladies  talked 
of  their  family  affairs  just  as  women  do  in 
America. 

The  wife  of  the  Bey  related  with  great 
glee  that  she  had  gone  out  in  a  white 
veil  for  the  first  time  in  her  life  the  day  be- 
4  49 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

fore.  And  her  cousin  told  us  in  confidence 
that  her  daughter,  a  bride  of  fifteen,  was  not 
permitted  by  her  husband  to  wear  anything 
but  a  dark-figured  veil,  and  added  that  her 
son-in-law  was  very  jealous. 

They  were  all  very  merry  and  bright, 
and  made  me  feel  very  much  at  home.  I 
lingered  as  long  as  I  thought  correct, 
though  they  begged  me  to  stay,  and  we 
parted  with  vows  of  eternal  friendship. 

To  close  this  article  with  an  account  of 
what  is  at  the  present  day  the  most  ori- 
ental of  all  oriental  things,  I  will  tell  of 
a  wedding,  and  a  wedding  on  the  grandest 
scale,  which  I  was  fortunate  enough  to 
witness  in  Cairo. 

This  was  the  wedding  of  a  certain 
Mohammed  Bey  to  the  daughter  of  Hassan 
Pasha,  both  representatives  of  the  highest 
Egyptian  aristocracy.  And  while  the 
oriental  ideas  of  friendship  have  forbidden 
me  to  mention  the  names  of  my  Turkish 
friends,  while  relating  what  I  saw  in  their 
5° 


The  Women  of  Islam 

homes,  I  feel  at  liberty  to  give  all  the 
names  here,  because  all  great  weddings  are 
alike,  and  rank  less  as  private  than  as 
official  events. 

An  oriental  wedding  always  takes  place 
at  the  house  in  which  the  young  couple 
are  to  reside,  but  the  evening  before  the 
contract  is  signed  at  the  home  of  the 
bride. 

All  the  male  friends  and  relatives  on  both 
sides  assemble,  and  there  is  what  we  would 
call  a  stag  party.  The  contract  is  signed 
by  the  bridegroom  and  the  fathers  or 
guardians  on  both  sides,  and  last  of  all  the 
bride  is  called,  and  comes  veiled  to  the  door 
of  the  harem,  where  she  is  met  by  the 
priest.  He  asks  her  if  she  is  willing  to 
marry  the  young  man,  she  says  yes,  and 
the  cei^hony  is  complete.  Every  one 
then  s^arates,  and  the  real  wedding  takes 
place  the  next  day  as  follows. 

I  arrived  at  the  palace  of  Achmet  Pasha, 
the  brother  of  Mohammed  Bey,  at  five 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

0*clock  in  the  afternoon,  as  all  the  other 
guests  were  assembling.  The  street  for  a 
square  on  each  side  was  spanned  with 
arches  hung  with  colored  lanterns,  gold 
and  silver  balls,  and  Turkish  flags,  and 
the  gateway  was  garlanded  with  crimson 
flowers. 

A  glimpse  into  the  courtyard  showed 
me  the  Pasha  surrounded  by  his  friends 
seated  on  innumerable  divans,  drinking 
coffee  and  smoking  cigarettes. 

But  only  a  glimpse  ;  for  a  jet-black 
eunuch  hurried  me  through  a  side  door, 
and  up  a  flight  of  stairs  into  the  harem, 
where  I  found  myself  at  once  in  the 
Arabian  Nights. 

The  pakce  was  of  immense  size,  and 
built  around  a  courtyard  three  rooms  deep, 
the  inside  suite  having  windows  on  the 
courtyard,  and  the  outside  on  the  street, 
the  middle  rooms  being  lit  by  skylights. 
All  the  rooms  were  very  much  alike, 
furnished  with  divans  and  curtains  of 
52 


The  Women  of  Islam 

different-colored  brocade.  In  some  of 
them  were  large  canopied  Turkish  beds, 
and  in  some  French  consoles  and  tables, 
and  almost  every  room  boasted  a  crystal 
chandelier.  Opening  as  they  did  out  of 
each  other,  these  brilliant  and  endless 
rooms  gave  one  the  feeling  of  the  palace 
of  a  dream. 

Perhaps  two  hundred  women  or  more 
were  walking  about  or  sitting  on  divans, — 
the  ladies  of  Cairo  and  their  slaves, 
Egyptians,  Circassians,  and  Abyssinians. 

They  were  all  in  Egyptian  costumes 
of  the  most  gorgeous  materials,  brilliant 
pinks  and  lilacs,  sky-blues  and  ruby-reds, 
many  of  them  brocaded  in  gold  flowers, 
and  nearly  all  belted  in  at  the  waist  with 
girdles  of  flexible  gold. 

The  slaves  wore  dresses  as  rich  as  the 
ladies,  but  their  necklaces,  bracelets,  and 
earrings  were  in  most  cases  only  of  gold, 
while  the  ladies,  one  and  all,  fairly  glittered 
with  diamonds. 

53 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

The  jewels  indeed  were  surprising. 
Every  lady  wore  a  diamond  necklace,  and 
most  of  them  long  diamond  earrings, 
diamond  bracelets,  diamond  chatelaines,  and 
medallions  of  diamonds  holding  their  hus- 
bands' pictures  pinned  over  their  hearts. 

Some  of  the  ladies  wore  Turkish  turbans 
under  which  jewels  glittered  like  stars 
through  a  mist.  One  had  a  number  of 
diamond  humming-birds  nestling  in  her 
hair,  but  the  majority  wore  diamond  tiaras 
as  large  as  the  usual  royal  coronet. 

Some  few  of  the  slaves  wore  diamonds 
also,  and  I  began  to  realize  that  Egypt  is 
still  the  richest  country  in  the  world. 

The  absence  of  other  jewels  surprised 
me,  though  there  were  some  fine  pearls  and 
emeralds.  And  I  also  wondered  why  there 
were  only  the  four  colors  I  have  men- 
tioned. Green  I  knew  was  forbidden  by 
the  strict  letter  of  the  Koran,  being  the 
Prophet's  color,  but  I  could  not  understand 
the  absence  of  yellow. 
54 


The  Women  of  Islam 

After  I  had  feasted  a  few  moments  on 
this  fairy  scene,  a  large  negress  conducted 
me  into  a  room  where  the  wedding  pres- 
ents were  displayed  in  glass  cabinets  against 
the  walls.  These  consisted  of  articles  of 
gold  and  silver  plate  and  bottles  of  per- 
fume. From  there  I  went  into  the  salon 
tFhonneur  where  the  bride  was  to  be  re- 
ceived. This  was  a  large  room  somewhat 
in  European  style,  with  furniture  of  heavy 
carved  rose-wood  ranged  around  the  walls, 
a  crimson  carpet,  and  curtains  and  portieres 
of  crimson-and-gold  brocade. 

At  one  side  was  a  dais  raised  three  steps, 
and  covered  with  crimson  satin,  on  which 
stood  two  massive  Louis  the  Fourteenth 
gilt  chairs  covered  with  crimson-and-gold 
brocade,  and  over  them,  supported  on  slen- 
der gilt  columns,  a  splendid  canopy  with 
sweeping  curtains  of  crimson  satin  fringed 
with  gold. 

Nor  was  this  all,  but  from  the  top  of 
each  column  hung  a  skein  of  gold  wire  as 
55 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

thick  as  a  man's  arm,  which  reached  the 
floor. 

A  sudden  cry  arose  that  the  bride  was 
coming,  and  all  the  women  rushed  to  the 
windows,  I  among  the  rest,  and  just  in  time 
to  see  what  might  have  been  Cinderella's 
chariot  stop  the  way,  —  a  gilded  coach  of 
nondescript  design,  over  the  roof  of  which, 
as  is  their  custom,  was  thrown  a  rich  white 
Indian  shawl. 

The  bride  had  alighted,  and  was  coming 
up  the  stairs;  and,  running  out  into  the 
ante-chamber,  I  saw  her  enter  her  new 
home,  entirely  covered  with  a  golden 
veil,  and  surrounded  by  twelve  jet-black 
eunuchs,  all  throwing  silver  money  in  the 
air. 

They  passed  into  the  salon  d'konneur, 
and  the  moment  afterwards  the  slaves 
went  down  on  their  hands  and  knees, 
tumbling  over  each  other  to  get  the  money. 
The  ladies  had  to  jump  up  on  the  divans 
to  save  themselves  from  being  thrown 
56 


down,  and  the  floor  was  a  scrambling 
mass  of  satin  and  brocade. 

When  I  could  make  my  way  back  to 
the  salon  cThonneur,  I  found  the  bride 
already  unveiled  and  seated  in  one  of  the 
chairs  on  the  dais.  An  Abyssinian  slave 
sat  at  her  feet  and  fanned  her,  and  the 
admiring  throng  of  women  crowded  on 
every  side. 

The  bride  was,  as  I  was  informed, 
seventeen,  rather  old  for  an  Egyptian 
bride.  I  wish  I  could  relate  that  she  was 
beautiful ;  but  though  she  had  the  splendid 
black  eyes  of  her  race,  and  luxuriant  black 
hair,  I  can  describe  her  best  by  saying  that 
she  was  twice  too  stout. 

Her  dress  was  of  the  richest  material  of 
the  East,  a  pigeon's-blood  Mecca  silk 
brocaded  with  gold  flowers.  A  gold  belt 
encircled  her  waist,  and  on  her  head  she 
wore  a  white  tulle  turban  from  which  two 
skeins  of  gold  wire,  like  the  skeins  on  the 
canopy,  hung  over  her  shoulders  and  down 
57 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

to  the  ground.  Her  turban  was  fairly 
ablaze  with  diamonds,  and  her  bosom  was 
covered  with  a  mass  of  diamond  flowers. 

Her  slave  was  dressed  in  brocade  of 
brilliant  lilac ;  and  the  color  and  glitter  of 
the  whole  picture  may  be  better  imagined 
than  described. 

The  bride  remained  perfectly  silent,  and 
no  one  spoke  to  her.  Her  position,  every- 
thing depending  on  her  as  it  did,  seemed 
to  me  like  that  of  the  man  at  the  wheel. 

After  a  few  moments  more,  she  arose 
and  descended  from  the  dais.  Her 
female  relatives  surrounded  her,  and  led 
her  out  of  the  salon  and  into  a  private 
room.  The  ladies  dispersed  themselves 
again  through  the  apartments,  and  I  fol- 
lowed, with  another  American  lady  who  was 
present,  to  see  all  that  could  be  seen. 

The    ladies    seated    themselves    on    the 

divans,  and  little   negresses    carried  round 

cigarettes    in    little    baskets    of  gold    and 

silver  tinsel,  and  coffee  in  egg-shell  cups. 

58 


The  Women  of  Islam 

Every  lady  sat  with  her  own  slave 
beside  her,  and  I  could  not  but  remark  that 
all  the  beauty  was  among  the  slaves. 

The  Egyptian  ladies  are,  as  I  have  said 
before,  not  beautiful.  But  the  Abyssinians, 
although  as  dark  as  our  mulattoes,  are  a 
very  handsome  race. 

In  Africa  one  entirely  loses  the  idea  that 
brown  or  even  black  skins  mean  negro 
blood.  The  Abyssinians  have  very  noble 
features,  and  hair  like  waved  black  silk ; 
and  the  Soudanese,  though  almost  black, 
are  the  most  beautiful  and  graceful  crea- 
tures I  have  ever  seen. 

There  were  also  a  number  of  Circassian 
women  present,  easily  told  by  their  pink- 
and-white  complexions,  and  their  golden  or 
auburn  hair.  These  might  have  been  beau- 
tiful, but  that  they  were  all  blacked  so 
heavily  around  their  eyes  that  they  seemed 
to  be  wearing  spectacles,  and  that  their 
natural  eyebrows  were  shaved  and  replaced 
by  streaks  of  black  paint  half  an  inch  broad. 
59 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

This  is  an  ancient  Persian  custom,  and 
I  cannot  tell  why  it  is  practised  in  Egypt ; 
nor  have  I  seen  it  elsewhere. 

The  palm  of  beauty  rested  with  the 
Abyssinians,  and  they  seemed  to  be  the 
brightest  as  well ;  for  they  talked  incessantly, 
and  kept  the  other  women  laughing. 

In  one  of  the  central  rooms  a  band  of 
female  musicians  sat  on  the  floor  pkying 
on  inlaid  tambourines  and  lutes,  and  one 
on  a  bottle  drum.  And  musicians,  instru- 
ments, and  the  wild  melody  they  were 
pkying,  all  carried  one  back  to  the  days  of 
Haroun-al-Raschid. 

The  eunuchs  walked  about  joking  with 
the  women,  with  that  familiarity  which 
they  are  always  allowed.  The  air  was 
sweet  with  ottar  of  roses  and  musk,  and 
I  felt  myself  indeed  in  the  heart  of  the 
East. 

Half  the  women  spent  their  time  in  the 
inner  rooms  sitting  on  the  window-sills, 
and  looking  down  into  the  court.  I 
60 


The  Women  of  Islam 

looked  also,  at  the  instigation  of  an  Egyp- 
tian friend,  and  found  it  a  brilliant  scene, 
though  not  so  interesting  as  the  one  in  the 
harem. 

The  whole  courtyard  was  roofed  in 
with  bunting  of  the  brightest  colors,  and  a 
forest  of  glass  chandeliers  hung  (from 
nothing,  apparently.)  The  pillars  were 
twined  with  bunting,  and  the  innumerable 
divans  spread  with  rugs ;  and  in  the  midst 
of  all  the  glitter  and  color  the  Pasha  and 
the  bridegroom,  his  brother,  were  making 
merry  with  their  friends. 

The  window  lattice  of  course  protected 
the  women  from  sight ;  but  their  enjoy- 
ment of  the  view  seemed  endless,  for, 
from  afternoon  until  midnight,  the  window- 
seats  were  always  full. 

The  lady  of  the  house,  Madame 
Achmet  Pasha,  now  approached  me  most 
graciously,  not  having  had  time  before ; 
and  though  she  only  spoke  Arabic,  there 
was  no  misunderstanding  of  her  welcome. 
61 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

She  was  a  handsome  woman,  a  Circas- 
sian. I  was  surprised  to  find  her  alone  of 
the  women  in  a  somewhat  European  dress 
of  black  satin  with  yellow  stripes.  But  I 
was  informed  that  on  these  occasions  it 
is  not  etiquette  for  the  hostess  to  appear 
en  grande  toilette,  it  being  supposed  that  she 
is  too  busy  attending  to  the  comfort  of  her 
guests  to  have  had  time  to  dress  herself. 

The  banquet  now  came  next  in  order. 
But  being  told  that  it  would  be  served  in 
the  old  style,  all  the  women  eating  out  of 
the  dishes  with  their  fingers,  and  etiquette 
obliging  one  to  partake  of  every  course,  I 
excused  myself  and  left,  promising  to 
return  in  the  evening. 

I  returned  at  nine  o'clock,  and  was 
received  by  the  mother  of  the  bride  (a 
most  amiable  woman  dressed  in  rose- 
colored  brocade),  who  took  me  into  the 
bridal  chamber  and  explained  everything 
to  me  in  Arabic. 

This  room  adjourned  the  salon  d'bonneur 
62 


The  Women  of  Islam 

from  which  it  was  separated  by  portieres. 
It  was  all  yellow,  —  curtains,  portieres, 
and  divans  of  yellow  brocade  ;  and  at  one 
side  stood  the  most  beautiful  bed  I  have 
ever  seen. 

A  Turkish  bed,  —  four  slender  gilded 
columns  supporting  a  canopy  from  which 
hung  white-satin  curtains  fringed  with 
gold ;  three  long  flat  white-satin  pillows, 
edged  with  gold  embroidery,  were  piled  at 
one  end,  and  the  rest  of  the  bed  was 
covered  by  a  magnificent  white-satin  spread 
embroidered  all  over  in  gold. 

Two  steps,  covered  with  white  satin  and 
fringed  with  gold,  led  up  to  this  regal 
couch,  and  even  the  top  sheet  was 
embroidered  in  gold.  And  over  all  was 
thrown  a  white-silk  gauze  as  fine  as  a 
spider's  web,  and  embroidered  all  in  white, 
with  a  wonderful  fairy  embroidery. 

The  days  of  Haroun-al-Raschid  are 
over ;  but,  thank  Heaven,  the  East  still 
keeps  its  splendors ! 

63 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

On  a  table  beside  the  bed  were  two 
large  cases  of  crimson  velvet  embroidered 
in  gold,  some  silver-backed  brushes,  a 
cigarette  case,  and  match-box  of  gold, 
and  a  set  of  diamond  studs  and  sleeve 
buttons. 

I  now  returned  to  the  other  ladies,  and 
found  that  many  of  them  had  changed 
their  dresses ;  but  there  were  no  new 
colors,  only  paler  and  less  effective  shades. 

They  were  all  very  cordial  and  friendly, 
and  very  anxious  to  talk  to  me.  Two  or 
three  of  them  spoke  French,  and  the 
bride's  sister,  an  attractive  young  girl  of 
fifteen,  among  the  rest.  And  I  found  one 
who  even  spoke  English,  the  only  English- 
speaking  oriental  woman  I  have  ever 
known. 

She  and  I  immediately  became  friends, 
and  she  presented  to  me  her  mother,  a 
handsome  old  lady  glittering  with  jewels, 
and  her  two  daughters,  girls  of  ten  and 
twelve,  with  luxuriant  curling  ringlets  of 
64 


The  Women  of  Islam 

light  brown  hair,  most  unusual  in  the  East, 
as  pretty  as  wax  dolls,  and  whose  bright 
pink  dresses  made  them  look  like  roses. 

The  women  who  could  speak  no  for- 
eign tongue  talked  to  me  in  Arabic,  and 
their  tones  and  gestures  were  so  expressive 
that  I  managed  to  catch  a  good  deal  of 
their  meaning.  I  answered  them  in  French, 
and  we  got  along  very  happily.  Women 
must  talk,  and  I  do  not  believe  there  is 
any  difference  of  language  so  great  as  to 
render  conversation  between  them  abso- 
lutely impossible. 

A  very  pretty  Abyssinian  woman,  dressed 
in  sky-blue  brocade  and  sparkling  with 
diamonds,  came  to  me  and  said  that  she 
would  go  with  me  to  America. 

I  told  her  I  would  take  her  with  pleas- 
ure, and  she  turned  to  a  number  of  other 
women  and  told  them  what  she  was  going 
to  do  in  America.  The  bride's  sister, 
who  sat  beside  me,  translated  what  she 
said,  and  1  must  own  that  her  ideas  of  our 
5  65 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

manners  and  morals  were  anything  but 
flattering,  so  much  so  that  my.  little 
friend  at  last  apologized  for  her,  and 
stopped  translating. 

But  all  other  diversion  was  now  put  to 
an  end  by  the  announcement  that  the 
bride  would  now  make  her  second  entree. 

I  went  into  the  salon  cThonneur  and 
saw  her  enter,  led  by  her  sister  and  an- 
other young  girl,  walking  with  feigned 
reluctance,  and  apparently  dragged  along 
by  her  bridesmaids. 

The  sister  was  dressed  in  light  blue, 
and  the  other  young  girl  in  white  brocade, 
and  loaded  with  emeralds  and  diamonds. 
She,  the  other,  was  the  daughter  of  a  great 
Pasha,  and  was  soon  to  be  married  to  the 
brother  of  my  English-speaking  friend. 

The  bride  now  wore  a  dress  of  white 
satin,  brocaded  with  silver  flowers  ;  but  her 
turban,  her  skeins  of  gold  wire,  and  her 
diamonds  remained  unchanged. 

Again  she  was  lead  to  the  seat  on  the 
66 


The  Women  of  Islam 

dais,  and  again  the  women  gathered  round 
her,  and  admired  her  to  their  hearts' 
content. 

She  remained  as  silent  as  before,  and  at 
the  end  of  ten  minutes  or  more  she  de- 
scended from  her  throne  and  sought  refuge 
again  in  her  private  room. 

We  returned  to  the  central  apartments, 
and  sat  around  on  the  divans.  The  female 
musicians  whom  I  had  seen  in  the  after- 
noon reappeared  and  seated  themselves 
on  the  floor,  and  with  them  came  the 
nautch  dancers. 

Since  the  Chicago  Fair  so  much  has 
been  written  and  said  against  the  nautch 
dance  that  I  will  express  no  opinion  on 
the  subject,  though  being  familiar  with  it 
in  the  East  I  might  perhaps  do  so  more 
intelligently  than  some  of  those  who  have 
condemned  it  so  clamorously  here. 

I  will  make  one  remark  and  one  only. 
The  object  of  the  nautch  dance  is  to  ex- 
cite the  senses.  In  Europe  and  America 
67 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

people  at  festive  gatherings  make  them- 
selves merry  with  a  glass  or  two  of  cham- 
pagne. Mohammed  has  forbidden  wine, 
but  he  has  not  forbidden  his  followers  to 
be  merry.  The  nautch  dance  is  the 
champagne  of  the  Orient  ! 

The  costumes  of  the  dancers  on  this 
occasion  would  have  satisfied  the  severest 
critic,  being  just  like  those  of  the  ladies, 
except  without  trains.  Their  hair,  unlike 
the  ladies',  hung  down  in  long  plaits,  and 
they  wore  round  velvet  caps  embroidered 
in  gold  and  pearls. 

Coffee  was  brought  to  us  again  as  we 
looked  on,  and  the  manner  of  serving  it  is 
worthy  of  note. 

A  negress  carried  a  silver  brazier,  hang- 
ing like  a  censer  by  three  chains,  in  which 
a  superb  coffee-pot  rested  on  the  coals.  A 
second  negress  bore  a  round  waiter  with 
the  cups,  and  a  third  served  the  coffee  and 
handed  it  around. 

The  cups  were  like  egg-shells,  and  at 
68 


The  Women  of  Islam 

the  bottom  of  each  under  the  coffee  was  a 
drop  of  ottar  of  rose. 

The  evening  wore  on,  and  at  length  we 
were  informed  by  the  watchers  at  the 
inside  windows  that  the  bridegroom  had 
left  the  house  with  his  especial  friends  to 
make  his  visit  to  the  Mosque. 

Perhaps  half  an  hour  more,  and  then  a 
shouting  and  commotion  in  the  streets,  as 
in  the  Bible,  "  A  cry  arose  at  midnight,  the 
bridegroom  cometh  !" 

We  all  rushed  to  the  windows,  and  look- 
ing down  saw  the  procession  coming  along 
under  the  arches  of  colored  lanterns  and 
gold  and  silver  balls,  —  twelve  servants, 
all  in  white,  each  carrying  a  candle  in  a 
bell-glass,  and  walking  in  their  midst  a 
handsome  young  man  of  twenty  one  or 
two,  Mohammed  Bey. 

A  long  string  of  young  men,  his  friends, 
followed  two  and  two,  and  slowly  they  all 
filed  under  the  flower-hung  gateway,  and 
were  lost  to  our  view. 
69 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

The  Egyptian  ladies  now  began  to  wrap 
themselves  in  their  burnouses  and  veils,  and 
depart.  The  bridegroom  was  coming  and 
they  must  not  be  seen,  but  my  American 
friend  and  myself  were  invited  to  stay  and 
witness  the  closing  scene. 

In  company  with  the  bride's  mother 
and  some  of  the  house  slaves,  we  stood  in 
the  doorway  between  the  salon  cFhonneur 
and  the  bridal  chamber,  the  heavy  curtains 
half-hiding  us  from  view. 

The  wife  of  Achmet  Pasha  entered  the 
room,  and  stood  before  one  of  the  windows, 
with  three  of  her  slaves  behind  her,  and 
then  came  the  bride,  still  in  her  white  dress 
and  covered  from  head  to  foot  with  her 
golden  veil. 

A  prayer-rug  of  crimson  velvet  em- 
broidered in  gold  was  spread  beside  her, 
and  behind  her  stood  three  of  her  slaves, 
all  veiled  in  white.  I  confess  that  it  was 
one  of  the  most  exciting  moments  of  my 
life. 

70 


The  Women  of  Islam 

Footsteps  were  heard  outside,  and  sur- 
rounded by  twelve  eunuchs,  each  with  a 
candle  in  a  bell-glass,  Mohammed  Bey 
entered  the  room. 

He  seemed  embarrassed,  and  glancing  at 
us  behind  the  curtains  stood  still,  but  one 
of  the  eunuchs  took  him  by  the  arm  and 
led  him  to  the  praying-rug. 

There  he  turned  towards  Mecca, 
dropped  on  his  knees,  and  uttering  a  prayer 
touched  the  ground  with  his  forehead 
three  times. 

Then  rising,  he  took  the  bride's  veil  by 
the  hem  and  lifted  it  slowly,  slowly,  and 
when  the  diamonds  on  her  breast  were  in 
full  sight  her  slaves  seized  it  from  behind 
and  pulled  it  off,  and  she  stood  revealed  in 
all  her  splendor. 

Mohammed  Bey  clasped  his  hands  in 
delight,  and  then  turning  to  his  sister-in- 
law  uttered  some  words  in  Arabic,  evi- 
dently expressive  of  joy.  Then  turning 
back  again  he  gave  his  bride  a  medallion 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

of  diamonds,  for  which  she  made  a  place 
above  her  heart. 

(It  is  an  unwritten  law  in  Islam  that 
when  a  man  sees  his  bride,  his  first  act 
must  be  to  give  her  a  present.) 

And  then  Mohammed  Bey  hesitated, 
but  his  sister  encouraged  him  with  a  few 
words,  and  taking  his  bride  by  the  hand  he 
led  her  up  on  the  dais,  and  they  seated 
themselves  on  the  two  gilt  chairs  under 
the  canopy. 

The  moment  had  come  when  these  two 
thus  mated  for  life  were  to  make  each 
other's  acquaintance,  but  for  us  the  spec- 
tacle was  over.  Madame  Achmet  Pasha 
rushed  suddenly  down  upon  us  like  a  hawk 
on  a  brood  of  chickens,  and  pushed  us  all 
out  of  the  room. 

The  crimson  and  gold  portieres  were 
drawn  behind  us,  and  the  Arabian  Nights 
entertainment  was  at  an  end. 


72 


Oriental  Slavery 


73 


ORIENTAL   SLAVERY 

WRITTEN   IN    189* 

READING  the  other  day  an  account 
of  the  horrors  of  skvery  in  Morocco, 
I  laughed  at  this  new  "  bogie,"  as  every 
one  who  knows  the  Orient  and  the 
oriental  policy  of  England  must. 

The  British  lion  loves  to  masquerade  in 
the  Crusader's  mantle,  and  never  sets  out 
to  seek  his  prey  unarmed  with  a  pious 
excuse. 

The  old  Romans  went  out  to  conquer ; 
but  the  English  have  no  such  intent,  they 
go  out  only  to  spread  freedom  and  Chris- 
tianity —  with  the  sword. 

England  wants  Morocco,  therefore  this 

sudden    outcry     about    Moorish    slavery. 

When     England     has     taken     Morocco, 

Moorish  slavery  will  be  heard  of  no  more. 

75 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

India,  Burmah,  Ceylon,  and  Egypt  are 
full  of  slaves.  And  let  it  not  be  forgotten 
that  General  Gordon's  first  official  act  on 
his  arrival  in  Khartoum  was  to  re-estab- 
lish, by  edict  of  the  Queen,  the  slave 
trade  which  had  been  abolished  by  the 
Khedive  Ishmail.  Nor  can  we  blame 
him.  Gordon  knew  the  East  and  acted 
from  necessity.  I  only  blame  that  policy 
which  talks  one  way  and  acts  another. 
Let  England  conquer  all  she  pleases,  but 
let  her  have  the  courage  of  her  actions, 
and  not  seek  to  humbug  her  own  sub- 
jects and  the  rest  of  the  world. 

Many  people  speak  of  oriental  slavery 
as  of  other  things  which  they  know 
nothing  about.  I  know  the  East.  Its 
religions,  its  history,  and  its  literature  have 
been  with  me  almost  a  passion,  and  what 
its  life  is  I  have  seen  for  myself.  Its 
laws,  customs,  and  social  institutions  are 
not  and  cannot  be  like  ours.  Who  speaks 
of  abolishing  slavery  in  Mohammedan 
76 


Oriental  Slavery 

countries  talks  of  something  that  he  does 
not  understand.  Slavery,  with  them  of 
the  mildest  and  most  patriarchal  type,  is 
almost  a  necessity  of  life,  and  more,  it  is  a 
religious  institution  for  which  all  the  rules 
are  laid  down  in  the  Koran. 

To  begin  with  men  slaves.  They  are 
generally  bought  as  boys  from  dealers  or 
their  own  parents,  and  are  carefully 
trained  and  taught  whatever  work,  mental 
or  manual,  they  are  intended  to  perform. 

Slavery  in  a  Mohammedan  country  is 
no  disgrace,  nor  does  it  debar  a  man  from 
any  career.  Young  white  slaves  are 
sometimes  brought  up  as  husbands  for 
their  master's  daughters,  and  inherit  their 
share  of  his  wealth.  Slaves  who  show 
intelligence  a.  '  *alent  are  often  freed  by 
their  masters,  arter  being  carefully  edu- 
cated, and  obtain  through  their  influence 
official  and  sometimes  very  important 
positions.  Talent  has  always  found  its 
recognition  in  the  East,  and,  from  the 
77 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

earliest  times  of  Moslem  history,  slaves 
have  risen  to  be  generals,  Pashas,  govern- 
ors of  provinces,  and  even  grand  Viziers. 

Before  speaking  of  the  slavery  of 
women,  we  must  consider  the  position 
of  woman  in  the  East,  a  most  important 
point  and  one  which  the  old  maids  of 
Exeter  Hall,  and  many  other  good  people, 
entirely  forget. 

Mohammed  was  the  champion  of 
women.  He  restricted  the  number  of 
wives  to  four,  gave  women  rights  of  prop- 
erty, obliged  a  man  who  divorced  his  wife 
to  restore  her  dowry,  and  taught  parents 
to  be  glad  and  proud  of  daughters  as  well 
as  of  sons. 

No  woman  works  for  her  living  in  the 
East.  The  poorest  Mohammedan  who 
would  allow  his  wife,  mother,  daughter,  or 
sister  to  go  and  work  in  another  man's 
house  would  be  disgraced.  With  them 
men  only  are  the  bread-winners,  and  with- 
out women  slaves  there  would  be  no 
78 


Oriental  Slavery 

women  servants  of  any  kind,  and  this  for 
another  reason  also,  all  oriental  girls  are 
married  as  soon  as  they  reach  the  mar- 
riageable age, —  a  custom  which  insures 
peace  and  quiet,  as  much  of  the  trouble 
in  this  world  is  made  by  single  women 
(for  the  sole  reason  that  they  have 
nothing  else  to  do). 

The  only  exceptions  to  this  rule  are 
those  unfortunates  who  are  brought  up  as 
dancing  and  singing  girls.  They,  however, 
are  very  few  in  number  as  compared  with 
the  immoral  class  in  Christian  countries. 
All  other  women  marry,  and  old  maids  are 
unknown. 

And  now  let  us  look  at  the  real  condi- 
tion of  the  female  slaves.  In  former 
times,  there  was  a  commerce  de  luxe  in 
baby  girls,  who  were  prized  for  their 
beauty,  and  brought  up  in  the  harems  with 
as  much  care  as  their  master's  daughters. 
Now  they  are  generally  bought  as  they 
are  budding  into  womanhood,  not  in  the 
79 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

slave-market  as  in  olden  times,  but  pri- 
vately, from  dealers  to  whom  they  have 
been  sold  by  their  parents,  Circassia  and 
Abyssinia  being  the  great  sources  of  sup- 
ply. A  female  slave  is  more  for  ornament 
than  use  j  her  work  consists  in  waiting  on 
the  ladies  of  the  master's  family,  and  keep- 
ing in  order  the  apartments  of  the  harem, 
all  real  work,  such  as  cooking  and  wash- 
ing, being  done  by  the  men. 

When  one  pays  a  visit  in  a  harem,  all 
the  slaves  are  brought  in  to  serve  the 
coffee  and  bon-bons,  and  remain  standing 
about  the  room,  silent  and  graceful,  dressed 
in  satin  and  brocade,  bright  with  gold  and 
silver  ornaments,  and  sometimes  glittering 
with  jewels.  They  go  out  walking  and 
driving  with  their  mistresses,  and  are  taken 
to  weddings,  which  are  almost  the  only 
entertainments  in  the  East.  An  easy  life 
compared  with  that  of  an  English  or 
American  shop  or  factory  girl,  teacher,  or 
sewing  woman. 

80 


Oriental  Slavery 

And  yet  it  is  from  this  life  that  so 
many  good  people  (ignorant  and  intoler- 
ant of  all  customs  but  their  own)  are  so 
eager  to  rescue  them  —  and  for  what  ? 
For  what  ?  —  for  since  there  is  no  work 
which  women  can  do  in  the  East,  free- 
dom to  the  slave  means  the  choice  be- 
tween a  life  of  shame  and  starvation  on 
the  streets. 

As  one  of  the  many  examples  that  may 
be  given  of  the  harm  which  is  done  by 
good  people  meddling  in  things  they  know 
nothing  about,  I  will  relate  the  following, 
which  occurred  in  Egypt  in  the  beginning 
of  the  English  occupation,  and  which  I 
have  from  an  English  officer  who  took 
part  in  the  affair. 

Information  was  received  that  five 
Abyssinian  girls  who  had  been  ordered  for 
the  harem  of  a  Pasha  in  Cairo  were  com- 
ing down  the  Nile  in  a  dakabiyeb,  and,  in 
the  language  of  Exeter  Hall,  a  gun-boat 
was  sent  out  to  "  rescue  the  unhappy  girls 
6  81 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

from  slavery,"  which  in  their  case  was  to 
mean  a  transition  from  the  mud  huts  of 
Abyssinia  and  an  almost  savage  existence, 
to  the  luxury  and  splendor  of  a  Cairene 
Palace,  and  a  life  of  silks  and  jewels, 
bon-bons  and  perfumes. 

The  suspected  boat  soon  appeared  on 
the  river,  and,  when  summoned,  refused  to 
halt,  whereupon  the  gun-boat  fired  a  shot 
through  her  bows. 

Brought  to  in  this  manner,  she  was 
boarded  by  the  English,  who  found  the 
girls  below ;  but  there  were  only  four  to 
rescue,  for  one  had  been  killed  by  the 
English  cannon-ball,  —  her  gift  from  the 
good  anti-slavists.  The  other  four  girls 
were  taken  down  to  Cairo,  and  there  set 
at  liberty,  turned  loose  in  the  streets, 
speaking  nothing  but  their  own  language, 
knowing  nothing  but  the  life  of  their  dis- 
tant home,  young,  children  in  years,  and 
beautiful,  and  free  !  —  free  to  choose 
between  starvation  and  a  life  of  shame. 
82 


Oriental  Slavery 

Oh,  precious  boon  of  liberty !  Oh, 
excellent  Exeter  Hall ! 

The  officer  who  told  me  this  concluded 
by  saying  that  it  was  the  dirtiest  piece  of 
business  in  which  he  had  ever  been  forced 
to  take  part,  and  that  rather  than  engage 
in  such  another  he  would  leave  the 
service. 

In  former  times,  and  still  to  some  ex- 
tent, the  great  men  of  the  empire  used  to 
give  slaves  out  of  their  own  harems  to 
their  followers  as  presents  and  rewards. 
This  was  a  high  honor  for  the  recipient. 
The  slave  became  his  wife,  and,  if  he  had 
other  wives,  took  the  first  place.  At 
present  the  usual  custom  is  as  follows : 
a  Pasha  or  Bey  or  rich  Effendi  gives  a 
slave  her  liberty  after  she  has  belonged 
to  him  three  or  four  years.  The  woman 
then  remains  in  his  harem  two  or  three 
years  more,  free,  but  leading  the  same 
life,  clothed  and  fed  and  taken  care  of 
as  before.  At  the  end  of  that  time  the 
83 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

master  finds  her  a  suitable  husband  and 
gives  her  her  dowry,  the  amount  of 
which  is  regulated  by  custom.  Afterwards, 
should  her  husband  divorce  her,  she  re- 
turns to  her  master's  house,  and  in  any 
case  remains  more  or  less  a  pensioner  and 
dependent  of  his  family,  and  his  house 
remains  to  her  a  home.  Some  women 
remain  always,  from  choice,  in  their 
master's  harems.  Those  who  have  been 
wet  nurses  to  their  master's  children  are 
never  given  away  ;  they  are  held  in  high 
honor  and  affection,  waited  upon  by  the 
other  slaves,  and  ranked  next  to  the  ladies 
of  the  family. 

One  reads  romantic  tales  of  faithless 
odalisques  sewn  up  in  sacks  and  thrown 
into  the  sea ;  and  in  other  times  such 
things  no  doubt  occurred,  but  these  days 
are  as  much  past  as  the  days  of  witch 
burning  in  New  England ;  and  at  least 
we  must  admit  that  the  Mohammedans 
always  take  the  most  painless  way  of 
84 


Oriental  Slavery 

putting  people  to  death,  which  is  more 
than  can  be  said  of  the  Yankees. 

And  now  let  us  look  at  female  slavery 
from  the  point  of  morality. 

Mohammed  founded  his  religion  on 
the  Old  Testament,  which  undeniably 
gives  a  slave  to  her  master,  as  Abraham 
and  Hagar,  Jacob,  Zilpah  and  Bilhah. 
To  touch  or  even  look  at  another  man's 
wife  is  a  sin  for  a  Moslem,  but  a  slave 
belongs  to  her  master. 

In  the  words  of  the  Koran,  "  Take  of 
what  your  right  hands  possess." 

A  Mohammedan  is  responsible  for  every 
child  that  is  born  in  his  house.  If,  there- 
fore, a  slave  has  a  child  by  her  master,  the 
child  ranks  equal  with  the  children  of  the 
wife  or  wives. 

The  Sultan  never  marries.  All  the 
women  in  the  royal  harem  are  slaves, — 
Circassians,  Persians,  Greeks,  and  ne- 
gresses.  Every  woman  who  becomes  a 
mother  is  called  a  Sultana,  and  her  chil- 
85 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

dren  are  the  Imperial  Princes  and  Prin- 
cesses. The  real  Queen  is  the  Sultan's 
mother,  who  takes  precedence  of  every 
one  else,  and  bears  the  title  of  Sultana 
Valid£.  This  lady  is  as  much  a  necessity 
in  her  way  as  the  Sultan  in  his.  There- 
fore, if  the  Commander  of  the  Faithful 
have  no  mother  of  his  own,  he  must  adopt 
one,  to  give  a  head  to  his  harem. 

When  the  present  Sultan,  Abdul  Hamid, 
came  to  the  throne,  his  own  mother  being 
dead,  he  adopted  the  mother  of  his  pre- 
decessor, Abdul  Aziz.  A  strange  freak  of 
fortune  this !  Through  all  the  storms 
that  shook  the  empire  to  its  base,  through 
the  disasters  of  the  war,  the  murder  of 
her  son,  the  death  or  exile  of  his  ministers, 
this  woman  alone  has  remained,  is  Sultana 
Validg  still.  Like  all  her  predecessors, 
once  a  slave,  now  first  lady  of  the  Ottoman 
Empire ! 


86 


The  Missionaries 


THE   MISSIONARIES 

AS  THEY  APPEAR  TO  THE  HEATHEN 

NOW  that  the  question  has  been  raised 
in  England,  that  the  foreign  mission- 
aries are  not  fulfilling  their  mission,  —  and 
in  some  cases  they  are  doing  more  harm  than 
good,  —  a  few  words  may  be  said  on  the 
subject  here,  also  in  the  belief  that  it  is 
always  best  that  the  truth  should  be  told. 

In  the  first  place,  I  have  no  intent  to 
attack  the  missionaries,  but  merely  to 
show  that  they  should  be  judged  by  their 
life  and  work  abroad,  rather  than  by  our 
own  imagination. 

One  hears   of  drunken    and    profligate 

missionaries,    teaching    the    heathen     the 

vices  of  our  world,  rather  than  the  virtues 

of  Christianity.      Some  such  there  are  no 

89 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

doubt,  and  more  who  are  ignorant  or 
unfitted  for  their  work  ;  but  most  of  them 
are  good  people,  and  doing  good.  But 
they  are  not  doing  what  they  have  been 
sent  to  do,  and  what  the  good  people  at 
home  are  paying  for. 

They  are  teaching  the  natives  English 
and  something  of  the  laws  of  sanitation 
and  hygiene.  The  female  missionaries  are 
going  into  the  harems  and  teaching  some 
of  the  young  girls  to  read  and  write,  to 
sew  and  amuse  themselves  with  fancy 
work.  And  where  they  are  possessed  of 
medical  knowledge,  they  are  curing  little 
ailments,  and  sometimes  even  serious 
ones.  And  in  Egypt  and  Syria  especially 
they  do  an  immense  amount  of  good 
in  saving  eyes  from  the  scourge  of 
ophthalmia. 

But  they  are  not  making  converts  to 
Christianity. 

We  are  apt  to   speak  of  the  heathen 
with  utter  indiscrimination. 
90 


The  Missionaries 

The  learned  Brahman,  the  Moslem,  the 
Parsi,  the  Malay,  and  the  African  can- 
nibal are  all  one  to  us.  And  we  sing  of 
them  in  our  happy  self-confidence  and 
superiority  as  calling  us  from  lands 
"  Where  every  prospect  pleases  and  only 
man  is  vile,"  "  From  Greenland's  icy 
mountains  to  India's  coral  strand,"  to  come 
and  "  Deliver  their  souls  from  error's 
chain." 

In  reality,  however,  there  is  all  the  differ- 
ence in  the  world  between  the  savage, 
bowing  in  simple  ignorance  before  his 
"  fetish  "  of  wood  or  stone,  and  the  devotee 
of  a  religion  as  firmly  established  and 
older  than  our  own.  And  in  point  of  fact, 
neither  class  of  heathen  is  calling  us,  and 
when  we  go  to  convert  them  they  decline 
our  services  with  or  without  thanks,  being 
as  firmly  convinced  as  ourselves  that  their 
religion  is  the  best. 

My  own  experience  of  missionaries  has 
been  entirely  in  Mohammedan   countries, 
91 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

and  any  one  who  knows  anything  of  Islam 
knows  (perhaps  from  the  very  fact  that 
their  religion  is  founded  upon  ours)  that  it 
is  impossible  to  convert  a  Moslem  to 
Christianity. 

The  missionaries,  being  generally  men 
and  women  of  intelligence,  soon  realize  this 
for  themselves,  and  devote  themselves  to 
other  good  works,  such  as  have  been  already 
mentioned.  In  Egypt,  much  of  their  time 
is  given  to  reconverting  the  Copts,  and 
though  these  are  nominal  Christians,  and 
indeed  represent  the  oldest  branch  of  the 
Christian  Church,  no  one  who  knows 
them  will  deny  that  this  is  a  good  work, 
or  that  they  do  not  stand  in  need  of 
reconversion. 

The  Bibles  and  the  liturgies  used  in 
these  old  world  churches  are  all  written 
in  Coptic,  the  great-grandchild  of  the 
ancient  Egyptian  language.  This  has  be- 
come almost  an  unknown  tongue  among 
the  people,  who  all  speak  Arabic ;  and  it  is 
92 


The  Missionaries 

not    even    understood    by   many    of  their 
priests. 

Their  religion,  in  consequence,  has  be- 
come a  mere  form.  But  even  yet  its 
spirit  is  not  entirely  dead,  since  many  of 
them  are  willing  to  be  reconverted,  and  the 
missionaries  who  work  among  them  are 
meeting  already  with  quite  an  encouraging 
success. 

The  Brahman  and  the  Parsi  are  as  hard 
to  convert  as  the  Moslem.  And  their 
religions  furnish  them  with  arguments  as 
strong  and  more  subtle  than  ours. 

I  do  not  deny  that  there  are  nominal 
conversions  from  all  these  religions,  and  it 
is  the  names  of  these  converts  which  are 
sent  home  in  triumph  by  the  less  con- 
scientious of  the  missionaries,  to  prove  that 
they  are  earning  their  salaries.  But  these 
conversions  are  entirely  due  to  interested 
motives  on  the  part  of  the  converts,  and 
are  no  subject  of  congratulation  to  the 
missionaries,  but  rather  one  of  shame,  as 
93 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

being  too  often  open  to  the  imputation  of 
bribery  and  corruption.  This  is  principally 
the  case  in  the  British  oriental  possessions, 
where  the  subjects  soon  learn  the  lesson  of 
hypocrisy  from  their  masters. 

The  missionary  recommends  the  con- 
vert for  some  small  official  position,  or  it 
may  be  merely  for  some  labor  on  govern- 
ment works,  and  the  petition,  which  would 
be  refused  to  the  u  heathen,"  is  always 
granted  to  the  convert ;  and  this  is  a  noto- 
rious fact.  Any  one  who  knows  the  ori- 
ental character,  knows  that  the  religion  of 
an  oriental  is  so  much  part  of  himself  that 
if  he  gives  it  up  it  is  not  to  take  another 
in  its  place,  but  to  give  up  all  religion. 

Such  conversions  are  very  dangerous, 
and  very  much  to  be  deplored,  and  we 
should  stop  and  think  whether  we  are 
doing  good  or  harm  in  our  missionary  en- 
deavor, and  remember  that  Hell  is  paved 
with  good  intentions. 

I    think   the    missionaries    should    and 
94 


The  Missionaries 

would  meet  with  more  success  among  the 
savages,  were  it  not  for  two  points,  which 
they  always  make  at  the  beginning  of 
their  ministry,  and  which  generally  prove 
a  hopeless  stumbling  block. 

The  first  is  that  the  savages  must  be 
clothed,  and  the  second  is  that  they  must 
give  up  polygamy.  In  my  humble  opinion, 
the  first  point  is  a  great  and  unnecessary 
mistake.  The  early  Christians  indeed 
insisted  on  every  one's  being  clothed, 
because  the  human  form  had  almost  become 
an  object  of  worship  with  the  Greeks  and 
Romans,  and  nudity  belonged  inseparably 
to  their  heathen  rites. 

But  the  savages  are  different.  Their 
climate  makes  clothing  superfluous ;  they 
and  their  ancestors  have  arrayed  themselves 
in  a  few  shells  and  beads  and  feathers  from 
time  immemorial,  and  to  suggest  to  them 
that  their  costume  is  immodest  and  wrong, 
seems  to  me  to  instil  evil  into  their  minds, 
rather  than  good. 

95 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

The  question  of  polygamy  is  more 
serious,  and  one  which  I  must  leave  to  be 
decided  by  some  one  else.  But  in  the 
mean  time  the  Mohammedans,  who  also 
send  missionaries  to  Africa,  and  who  only 
restrict  the  number  of  wives  to  four,  are 
quietly  but  surely  gaining  all  these  souls  to 
Islam. 

It  seems  to  me  that  the  brightest  pros- 
pects for  the  missionaries  are  in  Japan. 

The  Japanese  are  a  progressive,  a 
friendly,  and  a  most  intelligent  people, 
and  more  than  all  this  they  are  ready  for 
a  new  religion. 

Buddhism  is  dead  in  the  hearts  of  the 
people,  if  indeed  it  ever  was  alive.  Many 
people  may  criticise  me  for  saying  this, 
for  Buddha  has  many  admirers.  Perhaps 
I  am  wrong,  but  Buddhism  to  me  has 
never  seemed  a  religion  at  all,  but  merely 
a  philosophy.  One  may  find  in  it  the 
resignation  to  die,  but  there  is  nothing  in 
its  teachings  which  can  help  one  to  live. 
96 


The  Missionaries 

If  we  must  give  it  the  name  of  a 
religion  at  all,  it  is  only  the  religion  of 
despair. 

Christ  has  commanded  us  to  go  and 
preach  the  Gospel  to  all  men.  The  divine 
command  must  be  obeyed,  but  let  us  stop 
for  a  moment  and  think  what  mistakes 
are  being  made  and  how  they  may  be 
rectified. 

Max  Miiller  says  that  the  failure  of  the 
missionaries  is  owing  to  the  fact  that  they 
are  not  satisfied  to  make  Christians,  they 
want  to  make  English  Christians. 

Mrs.  Sheldon  considers  that  the  great 
stumbling  block  in  the  path  is  the  fact 
that  the  missionaries,  and  Christians  in 
general,  do  not  practise  what  they  preach. 
This  is  undoubtedly  true  to  a  great  extent, 
and  what  is  more,  such  a  creed  of  "  not 
deeds  but  words  "  means  more  to  people 
of  other  faiths  than  it  does  to  us. 

Our    religion    is  the    highest    and    the 
most  difficult  to  follow  j  more  has  been 
7  97 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

given  to  us  and  more  will  be  asked  in 
return.  But  we  must  admit  that  the 
believers  in  general  in  other  religions  live 
up  to  them  better  than  we  live  up  to  ours. 

We  have  one  commandment,  "  Thou 
shalt  not  take  the  name  of  the  Lord  thy 
God  in  vain."  What  is  it  that  they  whom 
we  call  heathen  hear  oftenest  in  a  Chris- 
tian colony  (so-called),  that  even  the  par- 
rots learn  from  us  first,  an  oath  ! 

A  great  Christian  nation  goes  to  war 
with  China  to  force  upon  her  the  opium 
trade,  —  the  opium  trade,  which  means 
ruin  and  death  to  millions ! 

Afterwards  they  send  missionaries  to 
convert  them.  Is  it  any  wonder  that  they 
find  it  difficult  to  convince  the  Chinese 
that  our  religion  is  better  than  theirs  ? 

But  more  than  all  these  things,  the 
great  cause  of  the  missionaries'  failure  is 
their  want  of  unity. 

Sent  by  all  denominations  as  they  are, 
and  at  war  with  each  other,  they  come 
98 


The  Missionaries 

before  the  heathen  as  Catholics,  Episco- 
palians, Presbyterians,  Methodists,  and 
Baptists,  not  as  Christians. 

One  teaches  "  free  will,"  another  "  pre- 
destination ; "  one  "  infant  baptism,"  an- 
other "  immersion  ;  "  one  "  damnation  of 
the  unbaptized,"  another  "  eternal  hope ;  " 
one  "  transubstantiation,"  a  second  "  real 
presence,"  and  a  third  that  the  sacrament 
means  nothing  at  all. 

All  these  points  of  doctrine  are  insisted 
upon  as  necessary  to  salvation,  and  the 
bewildered  heathen  are  offered  the  uned- 
ifying  spectacle  of  a  church  divided 
against  itself,  —  a  spectacle  which  hope- 
lessly confuses  the  savage  mind  and 
inspires  the  learned  and  cultivated  heathen 
with  contempt  for  both  us  and  our  faith. 

Here  again  the  Moslem  missionaries 
have  the  advantage  of  us.  Come  they 
from  Morocco,  Arabia,  Persia,  Turki- 
stan,  from  no  matter  where,  they  come 
hand  in  hand.  Each  plants  the  crescent, 
99 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

and  each  teaches  the  same  simple  creed, 
"There  is  no  God  but  Allah,  and  Mo- 
hammed is  his  Prophet." 

More  blood  has  been  shed  by  Chris- 
tians against  each  other,  and  in  the  name 
of  Christ,  than  in  all  other  religions  that 
the  world  has  ever  seen. 

And  even  now,  in  this  enlightened  age, 
were  not  peace  kept  between  them  by 
the  Moslem,  the  different  sects  would  tear 
each  other  limb  from  limb  around  the 
Holy  Sepulchre. 

Saladin  advised  Richard  Coeur  de  Lion 
to  "  Conquer  the  other  half  of  his  poor 
Island  before  he  came  to  fight  in  Pales- 
tine." 

And  we  would  do  better,  before  we 
set  out  to  teach  the  heathen,  to  decide  on 
our  belief  among  ourselves. 

Christ  has  said,  "  On  this  rock  I  will 
build  my  Church,"  not  "  my  Churches." 


100 


A  Bird's-Eye  View  of  the   Re- 
ligions of  the  Orient 


IOX 


A    BIRD'S-EYE    VIEW     OF 

THE    RELIGIONS    OF 

THE   ORIENT 

"TF  the  Indians  had  formed  their  notions 
-^-  of  Christianity  from  the  soldiers  of 
Cortez  and  Pizarro,  or  if  the  Hindus  had 
studied  the  principles  of  Christian  morality 
in  the  lives  of  Clive  and  Warren  Has- 
tings ;  or,  to  take  a  less  extreme  case,  if  a 
Mohammedan,  settled  in  England,  were  to 
test  the  practical  working  of  Christian 
charity  by  the  spirit  displayed  in  the  jour- 
nals of  our  religious  parties,  their  notions 
of  Christianity  would  be  about  as  correct 
as  the  ideas  which  thousands  of  educated 
Christians  entertain  of  the  diabolical  char- 
acter of  heathen  religion.  Even  Chris- 
tianity has  been  depraved  into  certain 
sacrilegious  and  revolting  sects,  and  if  we 
103 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

claim  the  right  to  appeal  to  the  Gospel  as 
the  only  test  by  which  our  faith  is  to  be 
judged,  we  must  grant  a  similar  privilege 
to  all  who  possess  a  written,  and  as  they 
believe,  revealed  authority  for  the  articles 
of  their  faith." 

It  is  strange  but  true  that  many  people, 
no  matter  how  well  educated  and  culti- 
vated they  may  be  in  other  respects,  are, 
as  concerns  the  religions,  the  history,  and 
the  whole  life  of  the  Orient,  ignorant  and 
grossly  ignorant. 

And  they  are  content  to  remain  so, 
which,  in  people  who  take  pleasure  in  being 
well  informed  on  other  subjects,  is  the 
most  surprising  part.  They  will  study 
theosophy,  altruism,  or  the  latest  religion 
invented  by  Mrs.  Humphrey  Ward,  but 
they  have  no  time  for  Zarathustra,  Sid- 
dartha,  Kong  Fu  Tse,  or  Mohammed, 
who  have  been  the  lights  of  the  world. 

They  do  not  think  the  Orient  interesting, 
and  yet  its  history  is  more  dramatic,  more 
104 


Religions  of  the  Orient 

thrilling,  more  intense  than  anything  of 
ours.  Its  life  is  tinged  throughout  with  a 
subtle  enchantment.  Its  literature  is  a 
mine  of  precious  stones,  and  its  religions 
when  really  studied  give  us  the  key  to  the 
whole  history  of  man.  It  is  Max  Miiller 
who  says  :  — 

"  In  the  history  of  the  world  our  religion 
is  but  one  of  many ;  and  in  order  to  under- 
stand fully  the  position  of  Christianity  in 
the  history  of  the  world,  and  its  true  place 
among  the  religions  of  mankind,  we  must 
compare  it  not  with  Judaism  only,  but  with 
the  religious  aspirations  of  the  whole  world, 
with  all  in  fact  that  Christianity  came 
either  to  destroy  or  to  fulfil." 

Brahmanism  is  the  oldest  of  all  religions, 
so  old  that  it  has  no  beginning,  and  we  may 
trace  it  back  through  history  and  legend 
to  the  dawn  of  time. 

Like  all  other  primeval  religions,  it  is  a 
pantheism,  and  in  it  the  forces  of  nature  — 
the  earth,  the  sea,  the  dawn,  the  day,  the 
105 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

night,  the  fire,  the  lightning  —  all  are 
deified.  Its  myths  are  similar  to  those  of 
Greece  and  Rome,  less  beautiful,  less  grace- 
ful, it  is  true,  but  higher,  purer,  nearer  the 
divine.  And  under  this  mythology,  which 
has  arisen  from  the  poetic  nature  of  the 
early  Aryan  race,  and  is  greatly  the  result 
of  the  early  Aryan  language  with  its  rich 
flowers  of  speech,  behind  this  painted 
screen,  stand  the  real  gods  of  the  prim- 
eval world,  —  Brahma  the  creator,  Vishnu 
the  preserver,  Siva  the  destroyer. 

The  transmigration  of  souls  is  an  idea 
which  seems  inherent  in  the  Aryan  mind. 
Finding  its  fullest  expression  in  Brah- 
manism,  it  appears  under  various  forms  in 
Buddhism  and  the  religions  of  the  Greeks 
and  Romans,  Pythagoras  having  perfected 
but  by  no  means  originated  the  doctrine 
of  Metempsychosis. 

Centuries  of  Christian  teaching  have 
been  necessary  to  eradicate  this  idea  from 
our  minds,  and  even  now  we  are  some- 
106 


Religions  of  the  Orient 

times  startled  by  finding  that  it  is  the  belief 
of  children  to  whom  it  had  certainly  never 
been  taught,  but  in  whose  little  brains  it  is 
innate. 

And  what  idea  can  be  more  beautiful 
than  that  we  and  all  that  lives  in  nature 
are  animated  by  the  divine  spark  of  the 
eternal  essence  ?  Sent  out  and  recalled 
again,  passing  through  different  forms  of 
life,  changing  but  dying  not,  immortal, 

"  Dust  into  dust,  but  the  pure  spirit  shall  flow 
Back  to  the  burning  fountain  whence  it  came, 
A  portion  of  the  eternal  which  shall  glow 
Through    time    and    change    unquenchably    the 


Brahmanism  as  we  see  it  now  wears 
the  mask  of  idolatry.  With  the  lapse  of 
centuries,  errors  and  abuses  have  crept  in ; 
Juggernaut,  widow-burning,  serpent  wor- 
ship, and  the  Thugs  have  been  the  innova- 
tions of  the  last  two  thousand  years.  For 
a  thousand  years  also  this  oldest  of  all 
107 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

religions  lay  prostrate  in  the  dust;  and 
Buddhism  reigned  in  its  stead.  A  thousand 
years  it  lay  not  dead  but  sleeping,  and  then 
rising  again,  like  the  Phoenix,  from  its  own 
ashes  it  drove  Buddhism,  the  democratic 
intruder,  out  of  India,  and  resumed  its  place 
in  the  temple  and  on  the  throne. 

And  what  wonder  if  in  these  thousand 
years  of  slavery  it  lost  something  of  its 
purity  and  beauty  ?  Still  it  is  changed,  but 
it  is  not  dead.  The  mass  of  its  votaries 
may  perhaps  be  called  idolaters ;  but  the 
Brahmans  themselves  have  lost  nothing  of 
its  early  truth,  and  their  sacred  books,  the 
Vedas,  whose  spirit  is  not  merely  noble 
but  high  and  holy,  are  still  unchanged. 

Looking  forward  it  may  vanish  and  be 
lost ;  what  has  had  no  beginning  may  have 
an  end,  but  Brahmanism  was  a  pure  and 
beautiful  religion  in  the  morning  of  the 
world. 

And  now  to  the  first  of  the  prophets, 
Zarathustra  Spitama,  more  commonly 
1 08 


Religions  of  the  Orient 

known  by  his  Latin  name  of  Zoroaster,  or 
his  Persian  one  of  Zerdusht,  from  the 
twilight  of  Indian  pantheism,  from  the 
sound  of  falling  water  and  the  glimmering 
green  of  the  jungle,  to  the  snow  clad 
mountains  of  Iran  and  the  sunrise  of 
monotheism ! 

Zarathustra  Spitama,  the  first  of  the 
Prophets,  was  born  in  Bactria,  the  most 
eastern  province  of  Iran,  in  the  reign  of 
Kava  Vistaspa  (Kai  Gushtasp),  the  fif- 
teenth in  the  line  of  the  Pischdanian 
Kings. 

There  is  much  disagreement  about  his 
date,  Max  Miiller  making  him  the  contem- 
porary of  Abraham,  and  some  writers  plac- 
ing the  Pischdanian  dynasty  immediately 
before  Cyaxares  and  Cyrus.  But  on  the 
evidence  of  language,  and  the  testimony  of 
the  best  authorities,  we  may  hold  that  he 
lived  in  the  middle  of  the  fifteenth  century 
B.  c. 

Brahmanism,  of  which  Zarathustra  was 
109 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

a  priest,  was  at  that  time  the  religion  of 
Iran ;  but  though  the  world  had  accepted  it 
without  question,  and  knew  nothing  better, 
no  pantheism  could  satisfy  the  soul  of 
Zarathustra.  Determined  to  meditate  and 
evolve  the  eternal  truth,  he  retired  to  a 
cave  in  the  mountains,  lived  there  as  a 
hermit  for  eight  years,  and  then  reappeared 
among  men,  boldly  decrying  the  Deva 
worship,  and  proclaiming  Ahura  Mazda 
the  one  god  through  the  cities  of  Iran. 

The  world  was  startled,  hearing  for  the 
first  time  from  the  lips  of  Zarathustra  the 
name  of  its  God.  Men  turned  to  him  as 
flowers  toward  the  sun;  the  Devas  fled 
before  him,  with  their  priests,  like  shadows. 
Innumerable  converts  crowded  around  him, 
and  among  them  Isfendiar,  the  son  of 
Gushtasp  and  heir  to  the  throne,  espoused 
his  cause. 

First  the  son  and  then  the  father. 
Gushtasp  embraced  the  Mazda  Yacna 
religion.  Brahmanism  was  banished  be- 
110 


Religions  of  the  Orient 

yond  the  mountains  to  India,  and  the  new 
faith  was  established  with  all  its  hierarchy 
of  priests,  Dastuers,  Mobeds,  and  Hybrids, 
a  thing  which,  like  Minerva,  had  sprung  to 
life  full  grown  and  in  armor.  And  in 
Rhaga,  created  the  religious  Capital,  Zara- 
thustra  Spitama  held  sway,  Primate  of 
Iran. 

The  progress  of  religion  is  usually  slow. 
Christianity  took  three  hundred  years  to 
become  the  state  religion  of  the  Roman 
Empire.  A  religion  triumphant  in  the  life 
time  of  the  founder  has  been  the  achieve- 
ment of  Zarathustra  and  Mohammed  alone 
in  the  history  of  the  world.  The  Mazda 
Yacna  religion  is  the  purest  monotheism. 
Ahuromazda  (living  wise  spirit)  is  the  one 
God,  embodying  in  one  the  principles  of 
good  and  evil,  as  whose  symbol  Zara- 
thustra, abhorring  images  and  idols,  has 
chosen  fire. 

u  The  bright  spirit  appearing  in  the 
blazing  flame  and  the  presence  of  the  dark 
in 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

one   marked  by  the  wood  converted  into 
ashes." 

This,  of  course,  is  what  has  caused  the 
Parsis  to  be  branded  among  their  enemies 
by  the  name  of  fire-worshippers.  But  all 
who  know  anything  of  the  real  religion 
know  that  the  sacred  fire  always  burning 
on  their  altars  is  only  the  Symbol  of  God. 

Then  came  the  Amesha  Spenti,  called 
the  six  councillors  of  God,  in  reality  the 
six  attributes  of  the  Most  High,  and  not  to 
be  considered  as  anything  more  than  ab- 
stract ideas.  These  are  the  Vohu  Mano 
(Divine  Wisdom);  Ardibehest  (light), 
which  signifies  the  omnipresence  of  God  ; 
Sharaver  (Divine  Mercy  in  bestowing  good 
gifts) ;  Issandarmat  (Devotion)  is  the  sym- 
bol of  the  pure  heart ;  and  Khorda  and 
Ameredat  preside  over  vegetation  and  the 
fruits  of  the  earth,  agriculture  being  con- 
sidered by  Zarathustra  not  only  as  a  reli- 
gious duty  but  as  the  first  principle  of 
civilization. 

112 


Religions  of  the  Orient 

And  last  comes  the  Archangel  Shraosha, 
who  is  considered  to  be  the  Zarathustrian 
liturgy  standing  between  God  and  men. 

Zarathustra  believed  in  the  old  theory  of 
the  eternal  essence  animating  all  nature,  — 
and  surely  nothing  can  be  more  beautiful,  — 
but  discards  the  doctrine  of  the  transmi- 
gration of  souls  teaching  instead  our  own 
of  heaven  and  hell. 

Hell,  the  dark  abyss  into  which  the  lost 
soul  trying  to  cross  the  bridge  Kin  vat 
which  spans  the  chasm  between  this  world 
and  the  next  slips  and  falls,  and  heaven, 
"The  Paradise  of  the  stars  without 
beginning." 

Zarathustra  has  laid  down  for  his  fol- 
lowers six  great  precepts  :  truth,  and  the 
abhorrence  of  the  lie ;  prayer,  and  its 
universal  efficacy ;  religious  toleration ; 
regard  for  human  life;  marriage,  and 
the  absolute  prohibition  of  celibacy  ;  and 
the  command  to  enjoy  and  make  the  most 
of  the  good  gifts  which  God  has  given  us, 
8  113 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

and  the  world  which  He  has  made  so  fair 
and  beautiful. 

Zarathustra's  moral  philosophy  forms  a 
triad  of  thought,  word,  and  deed ;  and  he 
believes  that  no  man  is  truly  virtuous  un- 
less in  all  these  he  is  good  and  pure.  And 
forgiveness  of  sins  he  teaches  is  to  be 
obtained  by  repentance  alone. 

His  speculative  philosophy  teaches  that 
everywhere  in  the  world  a  duality  exists 
between  good  and  evil.  I  will  quote  from 
his  own  words  as  follows  :  — 

"  In  the  universe  there  are,  from  the 
beginning,  two  spirits  at  work,  the  one 
making  life,  the  other  destroying  it.  Only 
this  life  becomes  a  prey  to  death,  but  not 
that  hereafter  over  which  the  destructive 
spirit  has  no  power."  And  he  teaches 
always  the  ultimate  triumph  of  good. 

Zarathustra  has  also  taught  the  exist- 
ence of  angels  and  devils  like  our  own. 
In  Brahmanism  the  gods  are  called  Devas, 
and  the  evil  spirits,  Asuras.  Zarathustra 
114 


Religions  of  the  Orient 

calls  his  devils  Devas  (from  which  comes 
our  word),  and  his  angels,  Ahuras  ("  s  "  in 
Sanskrit  changing  into  "  h  "  in  Zend). 

One  thing  only  he  has  really  retained, — 
the  sacred  plant,  the  yellow  Soma  (Sans- 
krit), Homa  (Zend),  and  more  he  tells  us 
of  the  white  or  heavenly  Homa  which 
blooms  in  Paradise. 

The  doctrine  of  the  one  God,  combin- 
ing the  principles  of  good  and  evil,  was 
too  difficult,  too  high  and  pure  to  last  long 
untarnished  in  the  human  mind.  In  the 
reign  of  Darius  Hystaspes,  removed  from 
Zarathustra  by  one  thousand  years,  we  find 
Ahuromazda  resolved  into  a  shadowy  All 
Father,  and  known  as  Mithra ;  while  the 
principles  of  good  and  evil,  now  separated 
and  carrying  on  the  war  of  the  Universe, 
are  Ormuzd  and  Ahiriman. 

From  a  monotheism   it   has  become  a 
dualism ;  but  in  none  other  of  its  high  and 
holy  principles,  in  nothing  else  of  its  purity 
and  beauty,  is  it  changed. 
"5 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

Zarathustra  Spitama  has  but  three  mil- 
lion followers  to-day,  and  they  are  nearly 
all  in  India,  his  religion  having  been  driven 
out  of  Persia  by  the  victorious  sword  of 
Islam.  Three  millions,  —  but  they  hold 
fast  their  faith  as  do  the  Hebrews  theirs ; 
and  noted  everywhere,  where  they  are 
known,  for  their  probity,  and  the  purity 
and  beauty  of  their  lives,,  they  have 
lived  up  to  and  justified  their  religion  to 
the  rest  of  the  world  for  three  and  thirty 
centuries. 

Siddartha,  known  as  Buddha  (the  sage), 
who  comes  next  on  our  list,  I  will  dismiss 
in  as  few  words  as  possible,  for  of  all  the 
founders  of  the  oriental  religions  he  is 
the  only  one  with  whom,  or  with  whose 
teachings,  I  have  no  sympathy. 

Every  one  knows  the  history  of  Prince 
Gautama.  Born  in  the  sixth  century  be- 
fore Christ,  the  son  of  an  Indian  king,  he 
renounced  the  world  and  its  splendors  and 
pleasures,  and  abandoned  his  palace,  to  lead, 
116 


Religions  of  the  Orient 

first,  the  life  of  a  hermit,  and  then  that  of 
a  wandering  preacher  of  a  new  religion. 

The  theme  is  a  dramatic  one,  and  has 
been  idealized  by  Sir  Edwin  Arnold,  Wal- 
lace, and  others.  The  veil  of  distance  lends 
Siddartha  enchantment,  but  the  real  reason 
why  Buddhism  has  become  lately  so  popu- 
lar is,  that  this  is  not  a  religious  age,  and 
Buddhism  is  not  a  religion. 

Siddartha  was  an  atheist  and  a  socialist,  a 
nihilist  twenty-four  centuries  before  his  time. 

He  teaches  that  there  is  no  God,  no 
soul,  no  future  life,  no  heaven,  no  hell ; 
that  nothing  really  is,  as  all  things  are 
forever  undergoing  change ;  that  all  ex- 
istence is  evil,  and  that  the  only  thing  to  be 
desired  is  annihilation. 

It  seems  incredible  that  in  a  land  of 
light  and  beauty  like  India,  any  converts 
to  such  a  creed  could  have  been  found, 
especially  as  it  was  as  forbidding  and  disa- 
greeable in  practice  as  in  theory,  being  the 
most  absolute  asceticism.  The  Buddhist 
117 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

must  renounce  all  the  pleasures  and  com- 
forts, the  beauties  and  joys,  the  passions 
and  desires  of  life,  and  devote  himself  to 
meditation  and  the  contemplation  of  the 
unexplained,  which  is  the  only  term  I  can 
use,  as  nothing  really  existed,  and  there 
was  nothing, 

Were  this  absorption  complete,  the  dis- 
ciple had  attained  Nirvana.  For  the  first 
time  the  world  heard  the  doctrine  of  celi- 
bacy from  the  lips  of  Siddartha  ;  and, 
against  nature  as  this  was,  it  took  root, 
and,  for  the  first  time  in  history,  there 
sprang  up  monasteries  of  monks,  and  the 
caves  of  the  mountains  were  peopled  by 
hermits. 

For  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  after 
its  birth,  Buddhism  was  accepted  only 
among  the  lower  classes;  but  about  300 
B.  c.  it  was  embraced  by  the  Emperor 
Asoka,  and  became  the  state  religion  of 
India  for  a  thousand  years.  At  the  end 
of  that  time  it  was  driven  out  root  and 
118 


Religions  of  the  Orient 

branch,  and  sought  refuge  in  Ceylon,  Far- 
ther India,  China,  and  Japan. 

The  real  reason  of  the  success  of  Bud- 
dhism was  a  sordid  one.  The  Hindus 
are  not  fond  of  work,  and  all  those  who 
embraced  the  religious  life  became  ambu- 
lant beggars,  and  were  supported  by  the 
alms  of  the  believers.  Asoka  was  the 
grandson  of  the  upstart  Shandragupta,  and 
realizing  that  his  low  origin  deprived  him 
of  the  sympathy  and  support  of  the  Brah- 
mans,  he  overturned  their  religion  and  re- 
placed it  by  the  plebeian  Buddhism,  in 
which  he  recognized  his  natural  ally. 

As  for  Buddha  himself.  It  is  true  that 
he  taught  principles  of  good  morality,  — 
such  as  not  to  lie,  steal,  etc.;  but  all  this 
had  been  taught  by  Brahmanism  from  the 
beginning,  and  what  he  originated  was 
nothing  but  the  blackest  pessimism. 

As  a  king,  he  might  have  made  hundreds 
of  people  happy  ;  but  he  preferred  to  make 
millions  miserable  by  depriving  them  of 
119 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

all  happiness  in  this  world,  and  all  hope  in 
the  next.    . 

The  most  simple  conclusion  that  we 
can  reach,  after  considering  all  the  circum- 
stances, is,  that  Prince  Gautama  was  a 
nervous  dyspeptic,  and  his  whole  system 
of  philosophy  may  be  summed  up  in  the 
one  cry  of  hopeless  despair,  — 

We  cannot  all  be  happy,  therefore  let 
us  all  be  miserable. 

Our  geographies  inform  us  that  one 
third  of  the  human  race  are  Buddhists,  but 
no  more  erroneous  statement  has  ever 
been  allowed  to  stand  in  print.  In  China, 
the  religion  of  Kong  Fu  Tse  is  the  state 
religion,  and  counts  among  its  followers 
the  aristocracy  and  fully  one  third  of  the 
people,  while  another  third  follows  Laotse. 
In  Japan,  a  large  proportion  of  the  people 
are  Shintos ;  and  even  where  Buddhism 
still  exists,  it  is  so  changed  that  Siddartha 
would  hardly  recognize  its  teachings  as 
his  own. 

120 


Religions  of  the  Orient 

Nirvana  has  been  turned  into  Heaven, 
and  the  Burmese  and  Siamese  have  re- 
turned to  the  belief  in  the  transmigration 
of  souls,  and  have  .invented  themselves, 
besides,  a  series  of  hells.  No  one  has 
yet  presumed  to  invent  a  God,  but  the 
Chinese  worship  the  spirits  of  their  ances- 
tors, and  Buddha  himself  has  become 
almost  a  Deity. 

The  truth  is,  that  Buddhism  was  a 
belief  which  no  one,  outside  a  hermitage 
or  perhaps  a  monastery,  could  follow  ;  and, 
like  all  things  false,  it  held  in  itself  from 
the  first  the  seeds  of  its  own  destruction. 

The  sun  of  Buddhism  is  setting ;  it  is 
changing,  fading,  dying,  and  now  of  all  its 
empire  there  is  left  but  one  last  real  strong- 
hold of  this  faith,  or  far  more  unfaith, 
Ceylon. 

This,  too,  must  yield  to  time  and  the 
inevitable,  and  soon  or  late  Prince  Gautama, 
and  his  phantom  religion,  will  be  consigned 
forever  to  Nirvana. 

121 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

And  now  let  us  turn  from  the  nihil- 
ist to  the  great  conservative,  Kong  Fu 
Tse  (Latin  Confucius),  who  was  born  in 
China,  551  B.C.,  of  the  noble  family  of 
Khung. 

Asia  has  been  the  mother  of  all  reli- 
gions, and  it  is  a  fact  worthy  of  note  that 
the  founders  of  all  faiths  have  been  men 
of  noble  blood. 

At  the  age  of  twenty-two,  Kong  Fu  Tse 
appeared  as  a  teacher,  and  soon  gathered 
around  him  a  throng  of  disciples.  Pos- 
sessed of  many  virtues  and  noble  qualities, 
in  conjunction  with  his  gigantic  intellect, 
his  great  passion  was  the  love  of  mankind  ; 
and  the  whole  effort  of  his  life  and  teach- 
ings was  to  preserve  and  increase  their 
happiness. 

Though  the  founder  of  a  religion  and  a 
reformer  of  all  evil,  he  was  an  ardent  con- 
servative and  lover  of  the  past. 

" 1  am  not  one,"  he  says,  "  who  was 
born  in  the  possession  of  knowledge.  I 
122 


Religions  of  the  Orient 

am  one  who  is  fond  of  antiquity  and  earn- 
est in  seeking  it  there." 

Of  the  writings  of  Kong  Fu  Tse, 
though  the  five  Kings  are  ascribed  to  him, 
only  the  fifth,  the  Chun  Tsew  (Spring 
and  Autumn),  is  really  his.  The  Yih, 
the  Shoo,  and  the  She  have  been  compiled 
by  him  from  ancient  writings;  and  the 
Le  Ke  is  considered  to  be  the  work  of 
his  disciples. 

The  wisdom  of  Kong  Fu  Tse  has  the 
irresistible  charm  of  simple  truth,  and  his 
maxims  are  as  pure  and  sweet  as  old-time 
garden-flowers. 

"  The  superior  man  is  catholic  and  no 
partisan  ;  the  mean  man  is  partisan  and  no 
catholic." 

"  To  see  what  is  right  and  not  do  it  is 
want  of  courage." 

"Do  ye  unto  others  as  ye  would  that 
others  should  do  unto  you." 

Confucius  taught  four  things  :  Letters, 
Ethics,  Devotion  of  the  Soul,  and  Truth- 
123 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

fulness.  He  believed  in  the  immortality 
of  the  soul,  but  was  loath  to  speak  of  the 
life  hereafter. 

When  urged  to  tell  of  death  he  replied, 
"  Let  us  know  what  life  is  first." 

Kong  Fu  Tse  died  in  478  B.  c.  com- 
plaining, though  he  had  many  followers, 
that  not  one  of  the  princes  of  the  empire 
would  adopt  his  faith. 

Two  generations  later  his  name  had 
become  a  power,  —  a  power  ever  increasing. 
To-day  he  counts  his  followers  by  millions, 
and  his  impress  is  marked  indelibly  in  the 
whole  national  character  of  China,  the 
largest  empire  of  the  world. 

And  now  to  the  last  of  the  Prophets 
and  the  latest  of  all  the  great  religions  of 
the  world. 

All  hail,  Mohammed  !  Prophet  of  God 
or  not,  still  greatest  and  most  wonderful  of 
men. 

Christianity  had  been  the  state  religion 
of  the  Roman  Empire  for  three  hundred 
124 


Religions  of  the  Orient 

years;  but  the  Church  was  already  dis- 
tracted by  contending  sects,  and  the  world 
was  at  its  darkest  when  the  moon  of  Islam 
rose. 

No  man  who  has  ever  lived  has  been 
so  slandered  and  misrepresented  as  Mo- 
hammed. Until  the  last  century  he  was 
known  to  Europe  only  through  the  reports 
of  his  enemies,  and  no  lie  that  could  be 
invented  about  him  and  his  teachings  has 
been  left  untold. 

And  even  now  many  otherwise  enlight- 
ened people  entertain  a  mediaeval  prejudice 
against  him  and  his  religion,  which  is 
unworthy  of  themselves  and  the  age. 

The  usual  reproach  which  is  made 
against  Mohammed  is  that  he  permitted 
polygamy.  Let  us  dismiss  this  at  once 
before  we  speak  of  his  religious  teachings, 
with  which  it  has  nothing  whatever  to  do. 
Polygamy  has  been  the  custom  of  all 
oriental  nations  from  time  immemorial, 
and  the  only  action  of  Mohammed  in  the 
"5 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

matter  was  to  limit  the  number  of  wives 
to  four.  He  also  strove  to  render  divorce 
more  difficult,  and  gave  women  rights  of 
property  and  dower;  and  he  improved  their 
condition  in  every  way  in  his  power. 

It  is  true  that  he  gave  female  slaves  to 
their  masters.  But  we  must  remember 
that  his  religion  was  founded  on  the  Old 
Testament,  which  for  this  gave  him  full 
authority;  and  he  decreed,  furthermore,  that 
all  children,  whether  born  of  wife  or  slave, 
should  be  legitimate  and  equal  in  their 
rights. 

It  is  always  easy  to  find  motes  in  our 
neighbor's  eyes  ;  but  those  who  are  horror- 
stricken  at  the  social  system  of  Mohammed, 
should  not  forget  that  there  are  weak 
points  in  ours.  The  immoral  class,  which 
in  spite  of  all  the  teachings  of  Christianity, 
plays  so  large  a  part  in  all  Christian 
lands,  is  almost  unknown  in  Islam,  and 
there  are,  beyond  a  doubt,  more  women 
who  live  by  immorality  in  London  or 
126 


Religions  of  the  Orient 

Paris  than  in  the  whole  Ottoman  Empire, 
from  Morocco  to  Turkistan. 

As  to  the  absurd  idea  that  Mohammed 
denied  women  souls,  it  is  like  the  rest,  a 
pure  invention.  Mohammed  promised 
paradise  and  eternal  youth  and  happiness 
to  women,  on  the  one  condition  of  their 
being  mothers  and  fulfilling  their  destiny 
in  this  world. 

Mohammed,  born  in  571  A.  D.,  be- 
longed to  the  most  noble  family  of  Arabia, 
that  of  El  Hashim,  and  his  grandfather, 
Abd  el  Multalib,  was  the  hereditary 
Prince  of  Mecca  and  guardian  of  the 
Kaba. 

His  father,  Abdallah,  who  was  a  younger 
son,  was  the  handsomest  and  most  at- 
tractive young  man  in  Mecca,  and  tradi- 
tion relates  that  two  hundred  virgins  died 
of  jealousy  and  despair  on  the  night  in 
which  he  married  the  beautiful  Amina, 
Mohammed's  mother.  The  beauty  and 
magnetic  charm  of  his  parents  descended 
127 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

to  Mohammed,  and  no  doubt  bore  their 
part  in  his  wonderful  power  of  winning 
hearts. 

Losing  his  father  before  his  birth,  and 
his  mother  in  infancy,  the  first  years  of 
Mohammed  were  spent  with  his  wet 
nurse,  Halima,  in  the  desert;  and  indeed, 
as  he  later  became  the  leader  of  a  caravan, 
we  may  say,  that  throughout  life  the  desert, 
with  its  mirage,  its  silence,  and  its  mystery, 
was  his  home. 

Married  at  the  age  of  twenty-six  to  the 
widow  Kadijah,  who  proved  herself  a  true 
wife  and  noble  woman,  Mohammed  lived 
till  in  his  fortieth  year  the  life  of  other 
men. 

Then  suddenly  he  began  to  speak,  and, 
with  more  than  mortal  courage  as  it 
seemed,  to  denounce  the  idols  of  his  people, 
and  to  proclaim  Allah  the  only  God. 

But  at  first  he  spoke  in  vain.  Arabia 
was  steeped  in  a  mixture  of  Sabeanism, 
which  had  been  its  ancient  religion,  and  a 
128 


Religions  of  the  Orient 

later  and  more  degraded  idolatry.  The 
Arabs  were  wed  to  their  idols ;  and,  in  their 
indignation  at  his  teachings,  only  the  in- 
fluence of  his  uncle,  Abu  Talib,  saved 
Mohammed  from  death. 

Forced  to  fly  to  the  desert,  we  see  him 
persecuted,  hunted,  and  in  danger  of 
death.  Then  a  sudden  change  of  fortune, 
and  he  enters  Medina  in  triumph,  like  a 
king. 

Then  strife  and  the  clouds  of  civil  war, 
and  then  victory,  —  the  victory  of  truth 
over  error,  of  morning  over  night.  And 
we  see  the  men  of  Mecca  bearing  palm 
branches  to  Medina,  kneeling  at  the  feet 
of  Mohammed  and  hailing  him  Lord  of 
Arabia  and  Prophet  of  God. 

Not  only  did  Mohammed  annihilate 
idolatry  in  Arabia,  but  with  it  the  two 
great  vices  of  his  people,  drunkenness  and 
gambling.  No  other  man  has  done  as 
much  in  the  history  of  the  world.  And 
that  he  has  kept  not  only  his  own,  but  all 
9  129 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

succeeding  generations  of  his  followers 
from  their  favorite  sins,  —  for  the  Mussul- 
mans who  drink  and  gamble  are  only  the 
exceptions  that  prove  the  rule,  —  shows 
how  unparalleled  his  influence  on  the 
human  race  has  been  and  is. 

No  other  man  has  understood  human 
nature  as  Mohammed  has  done;  and  this 
knowledge,  combined  with  his  genius,  has 
given  him  his  more  than  mortal  power. 

The  first  principle  and  meaning  of 
Islam  is  resignation  to  the  will  of  God  ; 
and  all  those  who  are  thus  resigned,  no 
matter  what  their  religion,  are  Moslems 
at  heart.  Founding  his  teachings  on  the 
Bible,  Mohammed  reiterated  the  Ten  Com- 
mandments, and  taught  that  there  had  been 
four  great  prophets,  of  whom  he  was  the 
last  and  greatest.  The  other  three  are 
Moses,  David,  and  Jesus,  who  is  called 
Issa  ben  Marian  the  prophet,  but  not  the 
Son  of  God. 

Five  great  precepts  are  laid  down,  some- 
130 


Religions  of  the  Orient 

times  symbolized  by  the  five  fingers  of 
the  hand :  prayer,  almsgiving,  fasting, 
cleanliness,  and  war  against  the  infidels, 
for  the  purpose  of  spreading  through  all 
the  world  the  faith  of  Islam. 

Then  comes  the  equality  of  all  men  in 
the  sight  of  God.  But  let  no  one  sup- 
pose that  Mohammed  believed  in  the 
chimera  of  social  equality.  God  has  made 
social  distinctions,  and  one  man  is  born  a 
prince  and  another  a  peasant.  Different 
duties  have  been  assigned  them  in  life, 
but  their  positions  are  equally  honorable. 
The  inferior  must  treat  his  superior  with 
deference  and  respect,  and  the  superior 
his  inferior  with  kindness  and  considera- 
tion. Every  one  must  do  his  best  in  his 
own  sphere  ;  and  if  he  rises  from  a  lowly 
to  a  high  position,  there  must  be  no  pre- 
judice against  him  on  account  of  his 
former  state,  for  no  man  may  choose  the 
position  in  which  he  shall  be  born,  but  is 
assigned  thereto  by  the  will  of  God. 
Ml 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

This  is  undoubtedly  what  gives  the 
Moslem  of  the  most  humble  as  well  as  of 
the  highest  rank  that  innate  dignity  and 
self-respect  which  distinguish  him  from 
the  rest  of  the  world.  And  this  it  is  which 
has  made  and  will  always  make  the  hydra 
of  socialism  unknown  in  Islam. 

It  has  been  the  fate  of  most  religions  to 
change  and  degenerate  with  the  lapse  of 
time.  Christianity  itself,  the  broad  straight 
river  of  truth,  has  split  into  a  thousand 
channels,  and  the  Church  which  Christ 
founded  on  the  rock  is  named  no  longer, 
alas,  one,  but  legion. 

More  than  twelve  centuries  have  passed 
since  the  death  of  Mohammed,  but  it  is 
the  proud  boast  of  Islam,  that  she  alone  of 
all  religions  has  undergone  no  change.1 

1  There  is  one  great  schism  in  Islam,  that  of  the 
Shias  ;  but  it  is  a  political,  and  not  a  religious 
difference,  founded  on  the  succession  of  the 
Kalifs. 

The  Shias  contend  that  Ali  alone  was  the  legiti- 
152 


Religions  of  the  Orient 

Dynasties  have  risen  and  fallen,  earth- 
quakes and  plagues  and  famines  have 
passed  by,  and  the  old  world  has  given 
pkce  to  the  new.  But  still,  as  the  first 
Muezzin  called  to  prayer  from  the  first 
Minaret,  his  successors  call  to  prayer  to- 
day ;  from  Morocco  to  Turkistan  — 
"There  is  no  God  but  Allah,  and  Mo- 
hammed is  his  Prophet." 

mate  successor  of  Mohammed,  while  the  Sonnites 
(the  Orthodox)  maintain  that  the  succession  as  it 
occurred,  of  Abu  Bekr,  Omar  Othman,  and  Ali, 
was  just  and  ordained  of  God.  This  schism  reigns 
in  Persia,  whence  the  hatred  between  the  Persians 
and  the  Arabs  and  Turks.  Its  followers  may  be 
known  by  the  black  fez  which  they  wear  to  dis- 
tinguish them  from  the  Sonnites,  who  wear  the  red, 
thereby  proclaiming  themselves  orthodox,  and 
acknowledging  the  Sultan  of  Turkey  as  the  suc- 
cessor of  the  Prophet  and  ruler  of  Islam. 


'33 


The   Religion   of  Zarathustra 

Spitama 


'35 


This  essay  was  my  first  oriental  effort. 
This  study  of  the  Zoroastrian  religion  has 
made  some  progress  since  it  was  written, 
and  I,  too,  have  learned  more.  But  I  let 
it  stand  as  it  is,  out  of  a  little  feeling  for 
myself,  and  beg  a  gentle  criticism  for  the 
work  of  a  girl  of  eighteen. 


137 


THE   RELIGION    OF    ZARA- 
THUSTRA   SPITAMA 

THE   STAR   OF   THE   MAGI 

"  Not  vainly  did  the  ancient  Persian  make 

His  altar  the  high  places  and  the  peak 
Of  earth  o'er  gazing  mountains,  and  thus  take 

A  fit  and  unwalled  temple,  there  to  seek 
The  Spirit,  in  whose  honor  shrines  are  weak, 

Upreared  of  human  hands.      Come  and  compare 
Columns  and  idol  dwellings,  Goth  or  Greek, 

With  Nature's  realms  of  worship,  earth  and  air." 

"O  ELIGION  is  a  study  not  only  very 
Av  beautiful  and  interesting,  but  also  of 
the  greatest  importance,  being  so  inti- 
mately blended  with  history  and  philology 
that  the  three  are  almost  inseparable. 
And  if  we  seek  to  know  the  people  of 
antiquity,  and  to  understand  how  they 
looked  at  life,  and  what  they  felt,  the  best 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

answer  to  our  question  lies  in  what  they 
believed. 

Much  interest  is  felt  at  present  in  Bud- 
dhism, and  everything  written  on  the  sub- 
ject is  received  with  favor. 

It  is  this  that  emboldens  me  to  offer 
this  slight  sketch  of  the  religion  of  Zoro- 
aster, far  older  and  more  beautiful,  though 
not  now  so  widely  spread  as  that  of  the 
royal  Gautama.  And  I  make  the  effort, 
unworthy  as  it  is,  in  the  hope  that  others 
may  be  led  to  study  the  subject  for 
themselves. 

The  flash  and  roar  of  the  cannon  are 
like  lightning  and  thunder,  but  it  is  the 
spark  that  lights  the  train. 

The  Zoroastrian  Mazda  Yacna  religion 
was  unknown  in  Europe  a  hundred  and 
fifty  years  ago. 

Some  Parsi  manuscripts  had  indeed  been 

brought    to    England   from    India  in    the 

seventeenth  century,  but  for  want  of  a  key 

to    the    languages    in    which    they    were 

140 


Religion  of  Zarathustra  Spitama 

written,  Pahlavi  and  Zend,  they  remained 
for  a  long  time  a  sealed  book. 

In  the  year  1700,  the  great  Oxford 
scholar,  Hyde,  attempted  a  treatise  on  the 
subject,  but  knowing  really  nothing  of 
what  he  was  writing  about,  this  is  not 
deserving  of  notice. 

The  glorious  discovery  of  the  real  teach- 
ings of  Zarathustra  Spitama  was  destined 
to  be  made  in  France. 

In  the  middle  of  the  century,  Anquetil 
du  Perron,  a  young  Frenchman,  happened 
to  see  in  the  Bodleian  library  a  facsimile 
of  a  few  pages  of  the  Zend-avesta. 
Being  of  an  inquiring  turn  of  mind,  he 
determined  to  know  what  they  meant  or 
perish  in  the  attempt. 

With  this  end  in  view  he  resolved  to  go 
to  India ;  and,  no  other  opportunity  offer- 
ing, he  shipped  as  a  sailor  on  board  a  vessel 
belonging  to  the  East  India  company. 

His  perseverance  was  however  rewarded  ; 
for  the  government,  hearing  of  the  affair, 
141 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

released  him  from  this  engagement,  paid  his 
passage  to  India,  and  furnished  him  with  a 
pension  by  means  of  which  to  prosecute 
his  studies  while  there. 

Du  Perron  sailed  in  1754,  and  on 
arriving  spent  some  time  travelling  about 
in  search  of  the  information  he  desired. 

The  undertaking  was  much  more  diffi- 
cult than  he  had  imagined.  The  Mobeds 
and  Dastuers  (Parsi  priests),  not  under- 
standing his  motive  in  prying  into  their 
religion,  treated  him  with  the  greatest 
distrust. 

At  last  the  Dastuer  Darab  at  Curat 
agreed  for  a  certain  sum  of  money  to 
instruct  him  in  the  Zend  and  Pahlavi 
languages,  and  to  furnish  him  with  the 
necessary  manuscripts. 

Du  Perron  commenced  to  study  with 
the  greatest  enthusiasm  and  (overlooking 
the  fact  that  the  Dastuer's  knowledge 
of  the  sacred  languages  was  very  imper- 
fect, and  that  he  himself  was  not  too  well 
142 


Religion  of  Zarathustra  Spitama 

versed  in  the  modern  Sanskrit,  which  was 
their  medium  of  communication)  con- 
vinced himself  in  a  couple  of  years  that 
he  had  mastered  Pahlavi  and  Zend. 

In  1759  he  returned  to  Europe,  bring- 
ing with  him  a  hundred  and  eight  Parsi 
manuscripts,  and  two  years  later  published 
his  translation  of  the  Zend-avesta,  which, 
though  full  of  faults  and  inaccuracies, 
was  received  with  the  greatest  enthu- 
siasm throughout  France. 

The  English,  naturally  adverse  to  every- 
thing French,  treated  Du  Perron's  trans- 
lation very  coldly ;  and  Sir  William  Jones 
published  an  essay  in  which  he  stigma- 
tized the  whole  thing  as  nonsense,  and 
boldly  denied  the  existence  of  any  such 
languages  as  Pahlavi  and  Zend. 

The  Germans,  slower  in  their  judgment, 
now  took  up  the  subject ;  and  the  great 
Danish  scholar  Rasksoon  proved  the 
sacred  languages  to  be  pure  Aryan  dia- 
lects, tracing  them  back  from  the  Persian 
M3 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

to  the  Median,  and  thence  to  .the  Bactrian, 
which  leads  directly  to  the  classical  Zend. 

This  course  was  however  a  very  diffi- 
cult one  to  follow,  and  it  was  not  until 
Eugene  Bournouf,  Professor  of  the  Col- 
lege of  France  at  Paris,  thought  of  reach- 
ing the  Zend  through  her  sister,  the 
Sanskrit  of  the  Vedas,  instead  of  by  the 
successive  steps  of  her  Iranian  daughters, 
that  anything  further  was  achieved. 

This  attempt  proved  very  successful, 
more  especially  as  a  Sanskrit  translation 
of  the  Parsi  prayer-book,  the  Yasna 
(which  contains  the  writings  of  Zara- 
thustra  Spitama  himself),  was  found. 

Bournouf 's  labors  were  cut  short  by 
death;  but  his  excellent  commentary  on 
the  Yasna  still  ranks  with  anything  that 
has  been  produced,  and  contributes  even 
more  than  the  work  of  Du  Perron  to  give 
the  glory  of  this  great  discovery  to  France. 

For  the  last  forty  or  fifty  years  the 
work  has  been  carried  on  slowly  but 
144 


Religion  of  Zarathustra  Spitama 

steadily  in  Germany,  and  we  have  now 
two  translations  of  the  Zend-avesta  and 
one  of  the  Gathas. 

The  first  of  these,  by  Friedrich  Spiegel, 
Professor  of  Oriental  Languages  at  the 
Bavarian  University  of  Erlangen,  is  almost 
as  incorrect  as  that  of  Du  Perron,  being 
written  carelessly  and  hurriedly,  and  with- 
out any  real  appreciation  of  the  subject. 

The  only  true  and  correct  version  of 
the  Zend-avesta  is  that  of  Westergaard, 
Professor  at  Copenhagen,  who  visited 
Persia  and  India  in  pursuit  of  information, 
and  who  is  far  too  conscientious  to  set 
before  the  public  anything  which  he  is 
unable  to  prove. 

Last  came  the  Gathas,  translated  by 
Haug,  the  oldest  and  most  beautiful  por- 
tion of  all  the  sacred  writings  of  the 
Parsis, —  a  translation  which  may  be  taken 
without  reservation,  because  the  author  is 
animated  not  only  by  a  great  appreciation 
of  his  subject,  but  also  by  an  infinite  love 
10  145 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

for  the  venerable  religion  which  was  once 
the  light  of  the  world. 

Zoroastrianism  was  known  to  the  early 
Greeks  as  the  doctrine  of  the  Magi,  and 
greatly  respected  by  them. 

The  earliest  writers  on  the  subject 
were  Ktesias,  400  B.C.,  Deinon,  350  B.C., 
Theopompos  of  Chios,  300  B.C.,  and 
Herrnippos  of  Smyrna,  250  B.C. 

These  writings  are  nearly  all  lost,  but 
the  opinions  of  Hermippos,  who  appears  to 
have  been  the  only  one  possessed  of  any 
real  knowledge,  have  been  preserved  by 
Plutarch  in  his  "  Isis  and  Osiris." 

Our  earliest  account  of  the  Zoroastrian 
Mazda  Yacna  religion  is  to  be  found  in  the 
works  of  Herodotus,  written  450  B.C. 

In  his  own  words,  "  I  know  that  the 
Persians  observe  these  customs.  It  is  not 
customary  among  them  to  have  idols  made, 
temples  built,  or  altars  erected  ;  they  even 
upbraid  with  folly  those  who  do  so.  I 
can  account  for  that  only  from  their  not 
146 


Religion  of  Zarathustra  Spitama 

believing  that  the  gods  are  men  as  the 
Hellenes  do.  They  are  accustomed  to 
bring  sacrifices  to  Zeus  on  the  summits 
of  mountains  ;  they  call  the  whole  celestial 
circle  Zeus." 

"  The  sacrificer  ought  not  to  pray  only 
for  his  own  prosperity ;  he  must  also  pray 
for  the  welfare  of  all  Persians,  and  for  the 
king,  because  he  is  included  among  them." 

"  Lying  is  regarded  as  the  most  dis- 
creditable thing  by  them ;  next  to  it, 
incurring  debt,  chiefly  because  the  debtor 
is  often  compelled  to  tell  lies." 

The  Mohammedan  writers  have  also 
interested  themselves  in  this  religion,  the 
believers  in  which  fell  under  their  yoke  at 
the  conquest  of  Persia ;  and  it  has  been 
treated  by  them  with  great  liberality. 

Sharastani,  a  celebrated  sage  who  lived 
about  the  year  noo,  classifies  the  Parsis 
with  the  Mussulmans  and  Christians;  and 
many  of  their  writers  identify  Zoroaster 
with  Abraham. 

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A  Key  to  the  Orient 

To  the  Jews,  this  religion  was  probably 
well  known  through  their  frequent  inter- 
course with  the  Persians. 

It  is  hinted  at  in  Ezekiel  viii.  16,  17, 
and,  from  the  way  in  which  Cyrus  the 
Great  is  spoken  of  by  the  Prophet  Isaiah, 
we  are  led  to  infer  that  the  doctrines  of 
Zoroaster  were  not  so  diametrically  op- 
posed to  the  Mosaic  creed. 

Indeed  there  are  a  great  many  points  of 
similarity,  and  the  two  beliefs  in  the  devil 
and  the  resurrection  of  the  dead  are 
so  exactly  alike  that  it  is  impossible  not  to 
consider  their  source  the  same. 

The  word  paradise  has  no  existence  in 
Hebrew,  and  was  unmistakably  borrowed 
from  the  Zend ;  and  the  way  in  which  the 
one  God  names  Himself  is  the  same  in 
both  cases  (to  Moses  in  the  one,  in  the 
other  to  Zoroaster),  "  Ayeh  asher  ayeh  "  in 
Hebrew,  "  Amhi  yat  Amhi  "  in  Zend,  "  I 
am  who  I  am." 

The  date  of  the  founder  of  this  religion, 
148 


Religion  of  Zarathustra  Spitama 

Zarathustra  Spitama,  better  known  by  his 
Latin  name  of  Zoroaster,  is  in  dispute. 
It  has  been  a  common  error  to  place  him 
five  hundred  years  B.  c.,  in  the  time 
of  Hystaspes,  the  father  of  the  winged 
Darius ;  but  this  is  utterly  incorrect, 
and  rests  on  nothing  but  the  fact  that 
he  lived  in  the  reign  of  a  king  named 
Vistaspa. 

The  Greek  writers  are  disposed  to  place 
him  four  thousand  years  before  the  Chris- 
tian Era.  This  is  evidently  going  too  far ; 
but  when  we  consider  that  the  stupendous 
Parsi  literature,  of  which  Zarathustra 
Spitama  laid  the  corner-stone,  was  com- 
plete four  hundred  years  B.  c.,  and  com- 
pare it  with  the  Hebrew  literature,  whose 
growth  occupied  two  thousand  five  hun- 
dred years,  we  cannot  allow  a  less  time  for 
its  compilation  than  a  thousand  years. 

It  is  therefore  impossible  to  assign 
Zarathustra  Spitama  a  later  date  than  four- 
teen hundred  years  B.  c.,  thereby  proving 
149 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

him  to  have  been  at  least  contemporary 
with  Moses. 

At  all  events,  it  was  not  only  long  anterior 
to  the  rise  of  Buddhism,  but' even  to  the  im- 
migration of  the  Brahmans  to  India,  for 
we  find  that  the  Deva  religion,  not  differing 
essentially  from  modern  Brahmanism,  was 
then  the  established  faith  of  Bactria,  and 
Zarathustra  Spitama  himself  one  of  the 
Deva  priests. 

After  serving  in  this  capacity  for  some 
time,  Zarathustra,  a  man  of  wonderful 
mental  powers  and  intellect  far  beyond  his 
time,  became  convinced  of  the  falsity  of 
the  polytheistic  religion  of  the  Devas,  and, 
inspired  by  a  longing  for  the  truth,  resigned 
his  office  and  retired  from  the  world. 

During  the  eight  years  that  followed, 
Zarathustra  lived  like  a  hermit  in  a  cave, 
spending  his  time  in  meditation,  and,  as 
his  disciples  believe,  visited  by  angels,  and 
receiving  revelations  from  the  one  only 
God  whose  being  he  was  destined  to  reveal. 


Religion  of  Zarathustra  Spitama 

At  the  end  of  that  time  he  re-appeared 
among  his  countrymen,  and  announced  to 
them  the  Mazda  Yacna  religion. 

His  teachings,  which  were  at  once  em- 
braced by  Vistaspa,  the  king,  spread  like 
wildfire  through  all  Bactria ;  and  the  few 
remaining  adherents  of  the  Deva  religion 
were  forced  to  the  south  and  east,  and 
finally  across  the  mountains  into  India. 

Zarathustra  then  established  himself  at 
Ragha,  a  city  which  thenceforward  was 
exempted  from  the  rule  of  the  king,  and 
governed  by  his  successors,  the  high  priests, 
taking  the  name  of  Zarathustrian  Ragha. 

The  wonderful  success  of  the  Mazda 
Yacna  religion,  which  is  unparalleled  in 
history,  was  due  not  only  to  its  sublime 
character,  but  to  its  purity  and  truth. 

The  doctrine  of  Zarathustra  Spitama, 
though  since  corrupted  by  innovations  from 
the  old  Deva  and  Sabean  faiths,  was  the 
purest  possible  monotheism. 

He    believed    in   one   eternal    God, — 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

Ahuromazda  (living  wise  spirit),  embodying 
in  one  the  principles  of  good  and  evil, 
Cpenta  Mainyus  and  Angro  Mainyus,  as 
the  symbol  of  whom  he  takes  fire. 

"  The  bright  spirit  appearing  in  the 
blazing  flame,  and  the  presence  of  the  dark 
one  marked  by  the  wood  converted  into 
charcoal." 

The  only  other  personation  in  this  the- 
ology is  the  Archangel  Shraosha,  who  is 
supposed  to  stand  between  God  and 
man. 

Then  there  are  six  attributes  of  the 
Most  High,  which  are  dignified  by  the 
name  of  Heavenly  Councillors,  but  are  not 
to  be  regarded  as  anything  more  than 
abstract  ideas. 

These  are  :  first,  the  Vohu  Mano  (good 
mind),  a  portion  of  the  divine  wisdom  given 
to  all  men  to  instruct  them,  if  they  will 
listen  to  its  promptings,  in  the  right. 

The  second  is  Ardibehest  (light),  which 
signifies  the  omnipresence  of  God,  and 
152 


Religion  of  Zarathustra  Spitama 

also  that  the  sun  and  moon  and  stars,  fire, 
and  whatever  else  is  radiant,  shine  only 
through  his  light. 

Sharaver,  the  third,  which  signifies 
wealth  and  the  mercy  of  Ahuromazda  in 
bestowing  on  his  followers  all  good  gifts. 

The  fourth,  Issandarmat  (devotion),  is  a 
symbol  of  the  pure  heart  of  the  true 
Ahuromazda  worshipper. 

Khorda  and  Ameredat,  the  fifth  and 
sixth,  preside  over  vegetation  and  the 
fruits  of  the  earth,  agriculture  being  con- 
sidered by  Zarathustra  not  only  as  a  reli- 
gious duty,  but  as  the  first  principle  of 
civilization. 

Zarathustra's  speculative  philosophy, 
which  must  not  be  confounded  with  his 
theology,  constitutes  a  dualism  as  set  forth 
in  his  own  words. 

"  i.    Everywhere  in  the  world  a  duality 

is  to  be  perceived,  such  as  the  good  and 

the  evil,  light  and  darkness,  this  life  and 

that  life,  human  wisdom  and  divine  wisdom. 

153 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

11 2.  In  the  universe  there  are  from 
the  beginning  two  spirits  at  work,  the  one 
making  life,  the  other  destroying  it. 

"  3.  Only  this  life  becomes  a  prey  to 
death,  but  not  that  hereafter,  over  which 
the  destructive  spirit  has  no  power. 

"4.  The  principal  duty  of  man  is  to 
obey  the  word  and  commandments  of  God. 

"  5.  The  divine  Spirit  cannot  be  re- 
sisted. 

"  6.  God  exercises  his  rule  in  the  world 
through  the  works  prompted  by  the  divine 
Spirit,  who  is  working  in  man  and  nature. 

"  7.  Men  should  pray  to  God  and 
worship  him,  he  hears  the  prayers  of  the 
good. 

"  8.  The  Soul  of  the  pure  will  here- 
after enjoy  everlasting  life,  that  of  the 
wicked  will  have  to  undergo  everlasting 
punishment. 

"  9.  All  good  creatures  are  Ahuromaz- 
das.  He  is  the  reality  of  the  good  mind, 
word,  and  deed." 

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Religion  of  Zarathustra  Spitama 

Zarathustra's  moral  philosophy  forms  a 
trilogy  of  thought,  word,  and  deed,  and 
he  believes  that  unless  in  all  of  these  three 
he  is  not  good  and  pure,  no  man  can  be 
truly  virtuous ;  and  that  forgiveness  for 
sins  committed  is  to  be  obtained  by  re- 
pentance alone. 

The  Parsi  Scriptures,  consisting  of  the 
writings  of  Zarathustra  Spitama  and  his 
disciples  and  successors,  were  at  one  time 
of  such  immense  extent  that  at  the  date 
of  the  Macedonian  conquest,  353  B.  c., 
they  were  said  to  contain  2,000,000 
verses. 

But,  chiefly  owing  to  the  five  centuries 
between  this  event  and  the  succession  of 
the  Sassanids,  during  which  period  the 
Mazda  Yacna  religion  was  unsupported 
by  any  king,  and  the  still  more  rigorous 
rule  of  the  Mohammedans,  which  came 
later,  and  partly  due  no  doubt  to  the  care- 
lessness and  ignorance  of  the  priests,  a 
great  part  of  it  was  lost. 

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A  Key  to  the  Orient 

We  know  that  the  Zenda-vesta  proper 
consisted  of  twenty-one  parts,  called  nasks, 
of  which  only  the  twentieth,  the  Ven- 
didad,  remains. 

A  list  of  the  contents  of  these  other 
nasks  has  been  preserved,  from  which  we 
learn  that  they  treated  not  so  much  of 
religious  subjects,  as  of  medicine,  agricul- 
ture, astronomy,  philosophy,  botany,  and 
indeed  every  branch  of  literature,  and  were 
probably  the  work  of  the  successive  Zara- 
thustras,  or  high  priests. 

The  Vendidad  is  a  code  of  rules  for 
purging  uncleanness  of  all  sorts,  with  the 
exception  of  the  three  first  fargards. 

These,  which  are  evidently  of  much 
earlier  date,  contain  a  poetical  account  of 
the  creation,  which  by  some  has  been 
attributed  to  Zarathustra  Spitama  him- 
self. 

The  Visparad,  which  comes  next  is  the 
liturgy  of  the  Parsis  ;  it  contains  the  invoca- 
tions to  be  used  at  sacrifices,  and  the  ser- 
156 


Religion  of  Zarathustra  Spitama 

vices  for  the  festivals  at  the  beginning  of 
the  six  seasons  of  the  year. 

The  Yasna  is  the  prayer-book,  contain- 
ing all  the  Parsi  prayers,  which  indeed  are 
more  properly  hymns,  as  they  are  not  to 
be  spoken  but  chanted. 

This,  the  holiest  of  all  books,  consists 
of  three  parts,  the  younger  Yasna  of  un- 
known date,  written  in  the  ordinary  lan- 
guage of  the  Avesta,  and  the  older  Yasna, 
which  is  written  in  a  more  ancient  dialect, 
known  as  the  Gatha. 

The  younger  Yasna  consists  of  frag- 
ments of  other  books  and  short  writings 
on  various  subjects.  The  most  important 
of  these  are  the  Homa  Yasht,  which  de- 
scribes the  preparation  and  drinking  of  the 
Homa,  and  chants  the  power  and  praises 
of  the  Heavenly  Plant,  and  the  Shrosh 
Yasht,  which  is  dedicated  to  the  Archangel 
Shraosha,  who  personifies  the  whole  divine 
worship  of  the  Mazda  Yacna  religion. 
The  older  Yasna  contains  the  Yasna 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

Haptanhaiti  (the  Yasna  of  the  seven  chap- 
ters) and  the  most  sacred  of  all  Zoroastrian 
writings,  the  five  "  Gathas,"  which  alone 
of  all  are  beyond  doubt  the  work  of 
Zarathustra. 

These  Gathas  are  believed  to  contain 
all  that  was  revealed  to  Zarathustra.  The 
words  which  head  them  are  of  the  highest 
interest.  "  The  revealed  thought,  the  re- 
vealed word,  the  revealed  deed  of  the 
righteous  Zarathustra.  The  archangels  first 
sang  the  Gathas  !  " 

I  will  give  a  few  verses  of  these  won- 
derful hymns. 

"  I  know  thee  to  be  the  primeval  spirit, 
thou  wise,  so  high  in  mind  as  to  create  the 
world,  and  the  father  of  the  Vohu  Mano." 

"  Blessed  is  he,  blessed  are  all  men  to 
whom  the  living  wise  God  of  his  own 
command  should  grant  those  two  ever- 
lasting powers  wholesomeness  and  immor- 
tality. For  this  very  good,  I  beseech  thee, 
Ahuromazda,  mayest  thou  through  thy 
'58 


Religion  of  Zarathustra  Spitama 

angel  of  piety  give  me  happiness,  the  good 
true  things,  and  the  possession  of  the  Vohu 
Mano." 

"  We  praise  all  good  thoughts,  all  good 
words,  all  good  deeds  which  are  and  will 
be,  and  we  likewise  keep  clean  and  pure 
all  that  is  good." 

"  We  worship  Ahuromazda  the  pure,  the 
master  of  purity.  We  worship  the  Amesha 
Spentas  (angels),  the  possessors  of  good. 
We  worship  the  whole  creation  of  the 
true  Spirit,  both  the  spiritual  and  the 
terrestrial,  all  that  supports  the  welfare 
of  the  good  creation  and  the  spread  of 
the  good  Mazda  Yacna  religion." 

The  third  book,  the  Khorda  Avesta, 
consists  of  contributions  from  the  Persian 
poets  in  commemoration  of  the  feats  of 
the  angels,  which  were  chanted  at  their 
festivals  corresponding  to  the  Christian 
Saints  days.  But  these  belong  to  a  very 
much  later  date,  and  are  only  valuable  as 
mythological  poems. 

'59 


A  Key  to  the  Orient 

One  may  believe  in  the  inspiration  of 
Zarathustra  or  not,  but  without  this  belief 
his  work  and  its  wonderful  success  are 
easily  explained  and  understood. 

Zarathustra,  with  his  wonderful  intellect 
and  keen  insight  into  things,  saw  clearly 
that  the  religion  around  him  was  false. 

He  engaged  in  a  search  after  truth,  and 
to  those  who  seek  her  Truth  reveals  her- 
self. 

Zarathustra  felt  the  light  within  his  soul, 
and,  knowing  that  there  must  be  a  source 
beyond  himself,  he  turned  his  face  toward 
the  east  and  waited  for  the  dawn.  The 
dawn  broke,  the  light  for  which  he  longed 
was  given  ;  and,  pointing  to  the  star  which 
by  faith  had  risen  out  of  darkness,  he 
cried  to  the  world,  "  Learn  the  differ- 
ence between  good  and  evil ;  these  are 
devils  whom  ye  serve,  behold  I  have 
found  the  Truth." 


160 


Religion  of  Zarathustra  Spitama. 

Tradition,  in  the  Orient  often  more 
trustworthy  than  documentary  evidence, 
related  that  Zarathustra  inspired  his  fol- 
lowers with  the  belief  that  some  time  the 
Son  of  God,  a  divinity  not  elsewhere 
spoken  of  in  his  teachings,  would  come 
under  the  form  of  man  and  redeem  the 
world. 

This  idea  was  not  new  to  the  Aryan 
mind,  having  been  taught  by  the  Brahmans 
in  the  doctrine  of  the  Avatars  of  Vishnu. 

But  where  it  was  imperfect,  for  Vishnu 
only  came  to  help  mankind,  Zarathustra 
made  it  perfect,  his  God  coming  to  redeem  ! 

For  centuries  this  idea  lingered  in  the 
Persian  mind  like  a  seed  in  the  earth,  and 
at  last  put  forth  a  single  flower. 

The  first  to  adore  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
as  he  lay  in  the  manger  was  neither  Jew 
nor  Roman,  but  the  three  Magi,  —  Zara- 
thustrian  priests,  who  came  from  a  far 
country,  Persia,  to  worship  him  whose  star 
they  had  seen  in  the  east ! 
161 


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